People who know me, know that I am not a mother. I am not married, nor do I have children. However, one of my best friends, from way back in my Florida days, does. She has two amazing little boys. At the time this story happened, these boys were 4 and a half years, and 18 months old. At this time, I was getting ready to leave Gainesville, and so was she.

It was a Saturday. I had spent my entire day helping my friend load her things into a moving truck, an attempt I can liken to the ultimate game of Tetris! The day was winding down, but my friend and her husband needed to drive the truck to their new home 2 hours away, unload, and then drive the 2 hours back all before the 24-hour rental period for the truck expired. I offered to watch her boys overnight, so things would go more smoothly.

I found myself a mother of two for the evening. I was extremely nervous, but luckily these kids love and listen to me. Most of the time. My friend dropped them off at my place after an epic meal at Applebees. We played for a little bit, but then it was time for me to get them ready for bed. The older boy, Abdulrahman listened very well, and Abdulrahim, the younger, did not even fret or cry when his mother left so all was going well.

I got them ready and prepared the playpen my friend had left with me for the little one to sleep in. I padded it with bits of knitting, pieces of a blanket I had been working on for the last year and a half. I placed the little one in, and he started crying. Oh man…what do I do now!! I decided to take him out and, lo and behold, he stopped!

In he went, the crying started. Out I took, it stopped. He was like a light switch! On, off, on, off… I had to change tactics. I brought both boys to bed with me, little one’s head in the crook of my arm, and I turned off the lights. This, of course, caused the little one to freak out again, so my last resort was to sing a song I had sung to the boys since they were little about how much I love them.

The singing began, and the eldest joined in with gusto! We sang until our mouths were dry and then we played there silently. The evening wound down. Soon, from his light snoring, I could tell the eldest had fallen asleep. But I couldn’t quite tell if the little one had done the same. I obviously could not look over because the lights were off and I’m blind, so I decided to whisper ever so slightly the song I always sang to the little one about how much I love him:

Abdulrahim! Abdulrahim!

I love you sooooo, so very much!

AbdulrahimAbdulrahimAbdulrahim HEY!

Now, mind you my whisper was so quiet, that standing in front of me you would not have been able to hear me unless you had your ear glued to my mouth. But, when I was done singing, the quietest, cutest, squeakiest chuckle emanated from Abdulrahim. I heard it and could not contain myself! I began shaking with giggles and laughter, which caused the little one to laugh out loud and make me laugh even MORE. The eldest woke up too, and didn’t know what was happening. But he laughed regardless. Maybe he just wanted to join in. For a joyful five minutes, we laughed our hearts out. Then the process of singing was repeated!