This reminds me of an experience I had about fifteen years ago. I was sound asleep when the telephone rang, and my first reaction was of annoyance, because it was after one o'clock in the morning. I answered it, and heard a young man's voice say, "Hello. Mom?" I groggily told him that he had the wrong number. My only child was my daughter. After I hung up, I felt a strange sadness, and an odd yearning to hear that voice again. I felt concern; because of how late he had called, I wondered if he was alright. And I was puzzled about my concern because it was a complete stranger who had obviously dialed the wrong number. But the feeling persisted.
After giving it much thought, I had the odd feeling that it had been my son, whom I had lost to premature birth. He would have been twenty five at that time. I kept hoping he would call again, but he never did.
Those of us who are mothers know how emotionally laden the name "Mom" is. We hear our child say it, and it wakens the heart and all that it means to be a mother.
