My sister tells a wonderful story about my nephew who, as a toddler, was busy, smart and very resourceful – a joy and, at times, a bit of a concern for his mom, I think.
He was (and is) an explorer of the world, a fearless adventurer and an enormously kind young fellow.
One early Mothers’ Day morning, very early and very morning, she woke to a gentle touch.
There was my nephew standing beside the bed, balancing a tray not very well and trying to get her to sit up.
“I brought you breakfast, Mummy” he said, his huge grin a likely representation of his pride.
He had watched carefully his mom’s habit of doing nice things for people, including a few breakfasts-in-bed they had shared over the years, when he least expected it.
So, here he was, standing so tall and absolutely vibrating in anticipation as he offered her the tray.
On it was a tea towel, a kid-type napkin (Kleenex), a bowl of cereal with a spoon and, sweetest of all, some dandelions in pretty good shape, considering their recent “smushing” into the glass.
Her heart bursting, my sister sat up and fluffed her pillows so she could fully appreciate this amazing “first”.
She closed her eyes and sighed “how fast they grow up” as she took her first bite. CRUNCH!
Not sure that such a sharp sound should come from a bowl of soggy Cheerios, she stopped chewing and, with mouth still full, looked at the spoon just out of her mouth.
She was looking at the familiar, well-crusted spoon usually found on the back of the sink – the one used every day to dish up the cat’s wet food!
Looking into her son’s big, brown eyes and being ever so careful to avoid as much contact with the inside of her mouth as possible, she swallowed hard but, to her absolute horror, she could still feel several scratchy pieces in her mouth.
Without a beat, she rose from the bed, silently gave her “server” a big mummy hug – she was unable to speak with so much saliva in her mouth! – and beat the land speed record as she fled to the bathroom. What a great mummy memory!
