Have a good Wish!
I stood motionless at the counter as she raced around me, a little tornado, reminding me of someone else… myself. “Wait, wait, wait!” she exclaimed as she hurriedly grabbed assorted items and put them in a brown paper bag. She had discovered the utility of brown paper bags only just yesterday and was thrilled. She reached up and put two bags in my purse. “These will help you at work today,” she stated, beaming. She smiled at me, satisified that she was letting me go in good stead. “Have a good wish!” she said, giving me her signature send off.
I went out the door, my heart filled. It had been a long, trying week, both physically and emotionally, but she was there to take care of me.
We snuggled in bed that night, reading stories, giggling at the silly sayings. “I want another mother” she said, mimicking the mouse that, upon asking for “another” kiss, had multiple other mothers come to bid him good night. “You want another mother?” I said. “No, just you”, she said, giving me a big kiss. “I miss Daddy” she said. “He’s fun” she said. “me too” I replied. “I love you too though” she said.
I left her room warmed by her gentle, honest love. At the ripe age of two and three quarters, she was already taking care of me.
I opened the paper bags at work and smiled at what she had given me: half a plastic egg filled with silly putty, a pipe cleaner and foam for a “project”, a plastic giraffe, a heart shaped ring, a plastic bag from the newspaper to “hold my important things in”, and a plastic lynx. I carefully closed the bags and put them back in my purse, smiling.
They did help me at work today, I thought, every single one of them, and so did my “other mother.”
