A Mother's Time

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I came out of my room. Walking the two steps down in our ranch house, I quickly skipped across the tile floor to the low, flat carpet in the kitchen. Nothing will wake you up in a better mood than the smell of bread baking in the oven. The sweet smell of white bread and a richer smell from the rye bread in the second oven.

I hear sounds from downstairs, so it's back across that cold tile floor to run down those gray stairs. Immediately greeted by the smells of oil paints and turpentine, I'm warned not to touch any one's still life as I wind my way through easels holding canvases. My mother's art students are the women in the neighborhood and each of them has something interesting to work on. My mother is also working on a piece. It's large and my eyes grow wide as I discover it's ME! I grumble a little because it's from that awful photo my father took while I was playing in the sandbox. Irritated, I stomp back up the stairs.

I run through the house and through the laundry room, stopping briefly to grab a home made pudding Popsicle from the freezer as I exit through the laundry room; fresh smells of clothes washing and drying in my nose.

The grass feels so soft under my feet and I bend down to smell the irises my mother has planted along the side of the house by the sand box. I smile, thinking about picking a bouquet soon for Mrs. McConollough who will give me a cookie for my efforts...even if some of the flowers are plucked from her own gardens.

I finish my Popsicle as I wander through the grape arbor and into the gardens where my mother has planted a cherry tomato plant, just for me! They aren't quite ready yet, so I run into the apple trees, making sure to stop at my favorite one to plant a kiss on its trunk. In the autumn, my family will make apple sauce, apple cider and apple butter from our little orchard.

Coming back into the house through the big red front doors, I run right into my mom's arms and a huge hug!

I love you, Mom!