My single line text
Il coraggio di Silvia(Silvia's courage)
A few years ago I was invited to a wedding. The day promised to be the same as may other weddings where a large number strangers shake hands with a smile and an infinity of time is spent sitting and waiting. At the parking lot of the restaurant, I was introduced to a young lady who turned out to be a relative of the groom. After the initial pleasantries, we started talking. She seemed very nice. She was tall and gave the impression of being an energetic person. We continued to talk even as we entered the restaurant, and so ended up sitting near each other.
The conversation, after a generic start, centered of the subject of children... sons in particular... It was the young woman who brought the subject up.
She had a boy of about six, and it was immediately apparent that this child was the center of her attention. You could feel that she doted on him; her manner way of speaking about him was cheerful and ironic therefore it was pleasant to listen to her as she described the child’s daily adventures... Slowly and through the various adventures she related, I began to realize that the child must have had problems but it was only in the middle of the lunch that I realized the truth...
It was following one of my questions that I suddenly understood what it meant for this woman to be mother. I was very impressed by her story that - at that point – she began to relate in detail. The child was born prematurely. He had survived but the problems were many. I remember being very impressed by the strength of the mother.
A few days later, completely by coincidence, I met the same woman at a hospital entrance where she had arrived for her child’s physiotherapy session. She asked me if I wanted to meet her son and I accepted.
I cannot describe what I felt when I saw the boy, I just know that inside me a scream exploded, so powerful that when I arrived home I felt the need to transfer at least part of my emotions to paper...
There is often a huge difference between the motherhood we celebrate and that which we live...
... my thoughts go to all mothers like "Silvia"...
