For my first gray hair.
Let me tell you some background- one time, a few years ago, my mom passed out in the middle of the night and was lying on the bathroom floor like she was dead. It totally freaked ALL of us out.
Yesterday, I was up in my room after school. I started hearing the sound like someone was choking. That sound, you know? The one that makes you think there is a Cadbury Egg lodged in someone’s throat? And they are struggling to get it out? Yeah, that sound.
Mom and I were the only ones at home. So I yelled down the stairs to her, “Mama?”
Nothing. But a deeper choking sound. Twice.
So I hollered louder- “MAMA?!? ARE YOU OKAY?!?”
Three quick choking sounds.
In my mind, I was certain that my mother was having some sort of seizure or trying to give herself the heimlich maneuver.
My adrenalin kicked in, I jumped out of bed [sue me, I love to nap] and ran down the stairs.
And there was Mama.
Sitting at the kitchen table.
Practicing her Chinese pronunciation.
Yes, my mother is learning Chinese. And apparently “Good morning, professor” in Chinese sounds a lot like “Please call 911. I am having a grand mal seizure!” in English.
It took a good 7-8 minutes before my hands stopped shaking, I was so worked up.
And it took the same amount of time for my mom to stop laughing.
A little piece of me will never recover from that panic. I think I aged 6 years in that one moment. I literally felt a gray hair grow out of my scalp directly above the “panic” area of my brain.
But it was sure blog-worthy. I hope you enjoyed it.