My son stopped calling me Mummy today

Dear Delyara, My son is twelve. This morning, while asking for cereal, he called me Mum instead of Mummy. He has probably done it before. Today was the first time I heard it. I looked at him too long and he asked what was wrong. I said nothing. Mummy became Mum in one ordinary kitchen sentence. No ceremony, no warning, no final use I knew to preserve. He is nearly as tall as me now. He closes his bedroom door more often. He asks friends questions he used to ask me. All of this is healthy. I know. Still, motherhood is full of tiny deaths nobody gives you permission to grieve because the child is standing alive in front of you. Tonight, I found an old video where he was three, shouting “Mummy, look!” every few seconds while jumping into a paddling pool. I used to become exhausted by that word. Mummy, Mummy, Mummy. I wanted five minutes when nobody needed me. Now one syllable has disappeared, and I would like to borrow it back for an afternoon. I will not ask him. Children should be allowed to grow without comforting parents for the sound of it.