Free Excerpt From "Treading Water"

In addition to the excerpt printed at the What's Your Mom Story blog, I am also printing another mother-related excerpt here. To order "Treading Water" see my webpage at www.noreensdigitaldreams.com

I’ve Got You Under My Skin, Kid

by Noreen Braman

Medical science recently discovered that women who have been pregnant might carry cells from the child in their body for decades after the birth. And those same children show evidence of having cells from their mother in their bodies for a lifetime. Finally, a scientific explanation for some of the dynamics of family life.

Mothers invariably have a certain radar for when “things aren’t right.” The kids are too quiet or they’ve been out too long or there is just a nagging feeling inside that for the most part, fathers are clueless about. How many times do we read a story about a child’s rare illness, diagnosed only when doctor after doctor found nothing, and mom insisted on one more test. Sure, we all acknowledge this is a mother’s instinct, but now, we finally have scientific proof of how it might work.

I am probably carrying around with me, some cells from all three of my children. Cells that swim around in the bloodstream, basically doing nothing until they are awakened by messages from the cells in my child’s body. I don’t know how this would work exactly, but perhaps there is some kind of wireless, cellular Internet – or maybe they use cell phones. The result is, the child cells in my body start swimming as fast as they can up to my brain where they pull the emergency cord and my train of thought screeches to a halt. I am immediately consumed with concern for the involved child and must track him or her down right away. “How did my mom know!” is often the surprised reaction. Especially when a truant child bounces into the house after a day spent avoiding school, only to find Mom standing there, home from work a full three hours early.

Now that we know that mothers and children are forever connected by these interloper cells, perhaps they can be used to our advantage. Mom’s cells in the child’s body can be trained to monitor a teenager’s driving, automatically imposing a 40 mph speed limit. Grass could be cut and garbage taken out without nagging – and that wild boyfriend with the nose ring – he could be history.

Of course, eventually, the children will find out how to activate their own cells in mom’s body. Phone calls will no longer begin with “so you haven’t called in three weeks, good thing I’m not dead …” Twins and close siblings will no longer be outfitted in matching clothes and paraded around the neighborhood. Becoming a lawyer or a doctor will be something pursued because of interest, not just because Mom wants one in the family!

Perhaps this isn’t such a good idea after all.

(c)2011 Noreen Braman an excerpt from "Treading Water."