My Mama Jenneice is a good mom.
An Idaho farm girl to the core, she grew up milking cows and hoeing beets. When she makes chocolate chip cookies or her infamous potato salad, she does not require a recipe. She just "whips it up."
She never shirked from a chance to jump on the trampoline with us when we were kids,
especially when a sprinkler was on underneath it. We grew up engaging in many summertime water fights with my mom. (Last July, I watched her have one with my twenty-five year old brother!)
Recently, my
good mom spent the day at my house, babysitting my children. This act of service was done on my behalf, so that I could attend the Story@Home conference. She knew it was important to me and she wanted to help me out.
After a lovely day of informative classes, laughter and storytelling, and being with neat friends, I walked through my front door...and was met with a clean house! It smelled like lemons and sparkled like diamonds. My mother had become my fairy godmother and had gone to work, performing her magic all over my house.
The dishes had been done, the kitchen had been cleaned, the bathrooms had been scrubbed, and all the laundry had been folded. I was amazed! (And truly grateful.) I thanked my mom, hugged and kissed her goodbye (because you should always hug and kiss your mother), and sent her on her way in her horse-drawn, pumpkin carriage.
My heart felt full and my burdens felt lifted as I wandered from room to room, admiring my mom's labor of love. I went into Carmen's room. His toys had been picked up and put away. His laundry basket was empty. I went into Lilly's room. It was tidy. Her laundry basket was empty. I went into my room and noticed that all my bedding had been washed. I glanced at my ugly, plastic laundry basket resting in the corner.
I gasped and felt my cheeks slowly,
slowly start to flush! My nervous giggle broke the silence of my reverie as I stared and stared at the basket.
The ONLY, SINGLE, SOLITARY item remaining in my laundry basket was my SILKY, BLACK, "UNMENTIONABLE!" My intimate apparel! My Victoria's Secret nightie! She had sorted, washed, and folded ALL my laundry, but had left "a little something" at the bottom of the basket. A little something her maternal eyes did not need to see! AAHH! How embarrassing! How mortifying! How distressing! After all,
SHE'S MY MOM!!!!!
And I'm glad she is.
She's a good one.