Picking Up The Pieces

One of Those Days

*I do not own the picture used as the cover.*

3:23AM

I groaned in my pillow before walking over to Ashley's crib, looking sadly at her as she cried bloody marry.
'Hushh now, Mama's here, Mama got you baby', I cooed at her before taking her to my bed as I leaned on the headboard and fed her. Soon enough her sloshing filled the room as I took a big yawn and rested my head on the headboard.

Upon hearing footsteps I lifted my head to see my mom enter my room doing her own zombie walk with the baby monitor in hand.

'I must've forgot to turn it off, I'm sorry you had to wake up like that', I said sympathetically as my mom dragged her feet to my bed.

'No shit, I thought I woke up 24yrs ago. Boy you used to cry just like that, and that too every 2hours.' She laughed slightly, stifling a yawn herself.
'You were such a cute little baby, and look how much you've grown up now. You remind me of myself as a new mom, ofcourse I had it much easier with your father beside me for these early months...I can't believe how life turned out for you' she said the last part lowly, almost tearing up.

'Now don't cry maa, 3 in the morning is hardly time to reminice old memories...you sympathising on me just makes it worse, I need you to be strong so that I'm strong.' I told her, barely having the energy to mask my own emotions. We were silent for a few moments, Ashley's sound echoing in the room as moonlight peeped through the curtains where the door was.

'How was dad like, you never told me much about him' I asked looking down at Ashley half asleep. My dad died when I was 6 or 7 yrs old, maa looked after me since then and made me the woman I am today. Ofcourse that meant frequently relocating, but since last year, maa decided to work from home and we together support the house and Ashley. We were doing quite good, too.

'Oh he was my sunshine' my mom said dreamily. 'You know, we used to go to the same school but I despised him back then. That man used to get on my nerves every day... Although we rarely got together, over the years we found it in ourselves to be civil to each other. Fast forward to the year 1970 we both fell for each other and got married soon after', she finished with a far off look in her eyes, as she was reliving the moment. 'Those were the best 30yrs of my life Amelia, I'd give anything to have them back, to talk to him once more, tell him how much I love him, my Dave didn't deverve that...' she finished as a lone tear fell from her eyes.

I grabber a tissue from my side table and hand it to her. 'Oh maa, I didn't know you'd cry, I'm so sorry. Here' I gave her the glass of water that I always keep beside me. She slowly gulped it down and looked at me with a sweet smile

'He gave me the best gift in the world, my Amelia' she said as she pulled herself up and gave me a light kiss 'I am so proud of you, my daughter' we both smiled at each other. I missed having these moments with her, with Ashley and college, we kinda rarely had a heart to heart. 'Well, I'm glad Ashley had to eat so early in the morning' I laughed, lightening the mood as Ashley started to dose off.

'Mind if I sleep here?' Mom asked as she scooched, already in tucked in on the other side of the bed.
'Do I have the option to say no' I said sarcastically rolling my eyes as I burped Ashley and put her in crib before cleaning up myself. A few moments staring at the mirror, my face isn't the same anymore. I had developed some acne and discoloration after the pregnancy and my skin just doesn't feel hydrated no matter the amount of skincare I do.

Sighing, I made my way back to bed beside my mom, snuggling up to her, no matter how old I get, I'll always sleep like a baby with my mom.

* * *

I stretched like a cat and sat on the bed, contemplating my life as I stared at nothing. Sunlight pouring in on my face, my hair all disheveled and static a sight to look at, I wonder how I slept through the night without any more of Ashley's alarms. I groggily walked towards the bathroom and freshened up before walking downstairs only to find maa watching Ashley as they play together in her little play area.

'Having fun?' I retorted as I walked to get water, getting a whiff of breakfast cooking nicely.
'How can I not with my little Ashley. You were knocked out for the night so I fed and changed her, sleep well?' She said with a warm smile as Ashley chipped in on our conversation in her baby language. She's gonna be a talker when she grows old. I can't wait to hear her say 'mama' for the first time.

'Pretty good actually, just need to pump now to make up for the lack of feeding. What's for breakfast?' I asked walking around shoving cereal pieces in my mouth as I sterilized the machine and settled. I checked my phone for any updates or projects, lucky enough to find a good one with a nice deadline, so I quicked signed up for it.

'Nothing fancy, same old omlette and bread and ofcourse, tea', she says excitedly talking in her baby voice as she stands up and adjusts Ashley in her arms. She walks over to the kitchen and set up two plates, one for me one for her
'Aww maa, you don't have to do that' I told her as I eyed her set the table for me while I pumped in the living room. Our living room and kitchen were adjacent so it was easy to see and communicate.

'Oh rubbish, you can't take this away from me I'm your maa. You take good care of my Ashley and I take care of you, it's our JD' she talks over the plates knocking while also entertianing Ashley.

I looked at her amused at her mood. Smiling to myself I finished pumping and cleaned up before sitting down and allowing myself to be spoiled by my mom.

After having breakfast and spending some time with Ashley in her playing pen, her giggles lightening up my day as I juggled writing for the project and watching her. Soon all three of us had fallen into harmony as maa was busy doing house chores, Ashley utilizing her energy talking and playing while I did my work.

I felt a writer's block working its way so I put my laptop aside and settled on spending the rest of day doing some nice and relaxing chores. That meant bath time for Ashley and while she slept, I took a long bath and pampered myself.

A nice and relaxing day is much needed once in a while, I felt rejuvenated and well-rested till the end of the day while also being productive. Maa and I had dinner and went to bed after watching a movie.

* * *

A bit of insight on the characters and history in this one, thoughts?

When was the last time you had those slow and relaxing days where you could just spend time to yourself and enjoy?

Word Count: 1283