Stubborn

Dear Mimi,


I just inhaled some of my own spit and had a coughing fit. It reminded me of the time the same thing happened once at your kitchen table. I was pregnant, and suffering from morning sickness. All of the coughing was making me feel quite ill, and I was trying to stop the cough without vomiting. You kept insisting that I put my arms up over my head to clear my air pipe. I insisted that if I did that, I would end up returning my breakfast to the plate in front of me. My hands were clamped tight to my mouth, and I shook my head at you every time you said it. Afterwards, you laughed at how ridiculous I had been - how foolish of me to not do the one thing that would help me stop coughing. You told me stories about how stubborn Dad was, how stubborn I was. It didn't matter how many times I told you I would have thrown up. I was so pissed off at you because YOU were being stubborn.


Remembering now, I am laughing. How stubborn we all were. What effort we both wasted not listening to each other that day.


Love,


A