My mom is my best friend, my helper, and my confidante. She's the only person in this world that I can truly rely on, the only one that I know will never let me down. I would do anything for her, and she would do anything for me. However, the situation that we have found ourselves in won't allow us to spend that much time together.
I just recently arrived in Germany to spend the summer with my mom. I flew into the Dusseldorf airport on May 8th, which also happened to be Mother's Day. I haven't been able to spend Mother's Day with my mom since 2008, when I was 12 years old. We were so excited to finally be reunited after 8 months of being apart. Before that, our only means of communication was phone calls and texting. We embraced for a little while and made our way back to her apartment, where she had prepared all my favorite Nigerian foods.
My mom and I live on opposite sides of the world, so we don't get to see each other as often as we would like. It has been a struggle to keep it together with her being so far away from me. There were so may instances that I was feeling sad and lonely, and all I wanted was my mom to be in the same room as me. It is even more difficult during the holidays because everyone else is spending time with their mothers and all I could do was call mine.
Sometimes, I would call my mom and just burst into tears because I just missed her so much it hurt. She would tell me that everything was going to be alright, that we would see each other soon, but that didn't make me feel any better. I wanted to see her right then and there, but I knew it wasn't possible and I just had to deal with it. Other times, I wouldn't speak to her for days because I felt like it would only make the situation worse, but that just made me feel like a terrible child.
Birthdays were never that great for me because my mom couldn't be there. No matter how many friends I surrounded myself with, it still felt like something was missing and I just couldn't genuinely be happy. This last birthday, I had friends buy me a cake to celebrate with me, but all I could think of was how much better it would be if my mom was also there to sing me "Happy Birthday."
Nothing feels as good as my mom and we are finally together now. We are savoring every moment that we spend together. We have caught up with each others' lives and we are making even more memories. She has cooked for me every single day since I have been here because she knows how much I have missed her delicious food. I don't even want to think about having to leave her again in August. I'm trying to be present, only living in the moment. My mother is my one true love and I know that I can function without her being with me, but I would prefer to have her by my side, or at least a stone's throw away.
