Short short Response: "A Flicker in the Night"

"A Flicker in the Night" is a reminiscence of our narrator, who describes the fond memory they have of when their mother tucked them in at night growing up and the joy of staying awake and watching tv long enough for the mother to come back in for confirmation her child's comfort and sleep status. I really liked this short short. The tv bits are believable and most readers are comforted by the tv in association with pre-bedtime rituals aspect it brings. I'm trying to think of criticisms but since we don't treat short shorts like normal short stories I'm not sure what all I can really offer that it really needs. I guess if I had to come up with somethng, it would concern the mother's character. You start out with a good introduction of the mother, but other than her scent, we know virtually nothing else about her other than that's she's married and watches television before bed also. Since she is the driving force of the story, I think she should more of an imposing figure. Also, there is little tension in this which threw me off because the ending left me wanting a little more. Does the voice switch from past to present tense on purpose? The narrator was asleep when the mother reentered but then suddenly can't sleep. Or is the narrator recollecting on the smell and that's why they can't sleep?