Here’s the thing. You don’t need me to carry you anymore. You don’t need me to hold you. You don’t need me to wrap you in a towel, dry you off, snuggle you up and walk you to your room to get your pjs after your bath. You don’t need me to inhale your freshly cleaned hair. You don’t need me to awkwardly walk with your body that’s now half the length of mine tangled in my limbs. I know that. I know you don’t need that anymore. But I need it.

So until you’re done asking, which I know could happen any day, I will continue the same routine we started nearly 4 years ago and pretend it’s for you. Because sometimes mamas can secretly need it too.