Mom Is 5

Always remember mom

Mom Is 5

Waking up is never easy. Reality sets in like quick sand solidified by memory. We would never wake up mom. Being alive is a testament to that. We would never call mom mother. That would be too formal and unkind. When we were younger it would be mommy. That had a softer familial sound. It had a sweeter ring to it. So much time has elapsed into the vacuous years of youth. It hangs there now fixed in one place forever. The only thoughts that really matter, that really count, are the ones that remain...the ones we have today.

Mom was and is 5. She is and was 5 today as best as we can recollect. She was always seen out back in the Spring yard in a bright yellow dress, long and flowing, curly blonde hair like Shirley Temple, pink cheeks and dimples. Her dark hazel eyes looked dark green in the afternoon sunlight, matching the color scheme of the deep thick lawn, which was really and truly in need of mowing. 

At the tea party, standing over her army of Barbie dolls, mom would pour out pretend hot water from the oval white plastic tea pot into the matching Tiffany brand cups and saucers, the ones with gold and pink printed flower patterns. Barbies one through five preferred Earl Gray without honey because they were watching their waistlines. The other dolls did not mind drinking any brand of tea. Imaginary water pouring out emptiness has less calories to begin with. Everyone knows it is caffeine free. Invisible crumpets and warm cinnamon buns smothered with hot butter work equally well for dieters and young girls concerned about such adult matters. The idea is to have fun and not pour hot water on your guests. That would be rude and unpleasant.

Somewhere between red and orange, large poppies were in bloom. Their sturdy hollow stems held their balloon like heads up high and mighty to the blue pastel sky. They lined up around the garden along with the blue flag flowers. They all prayed and hoped that mom would pick them as decorations to go on parade, to go on display on the tea party table. White marshmallow clouds would hang out for hours looking heavier than they really were. Mom would study them intently to find animals and shapes hidden in and about them. These elements were not only to be found in nature but in the imagination where child development expands well beyond the back yard fixtures. Mom was already thinking about what to serve for dinner. She was a visionary always planning for the future. That was her maternal instinct surfacing from a dream, always with a smile in the right place, at the right time, in the instance life was happening for her to protect her young ones and herself from what life could offer them in exchange or compensation for simple temporary happiness. 

At 5:00 pm every day mom would take a nap. It was good for her constitution, her youth and to tell the truth, it was good for the children too. Sometimes the kids are better off alone, on their own, out of sight and out of mind. Little mothers need their sleep. Barbie has Ken for instance; They have each other. Mom can rest in peace with that knowledge that she does not have to attend to their every need. They both come in a box with a money back guarantee for their protection. We can take comfort in that fact. Mom can sleep like a baby. Tea parties will be there forever when she comes around again. We want to get her something special, something nice for Mothers Day and we want to buy her 5 candles for her next birthday cake if we remember the dates.

Her head was not always in the clouds. She would glance around from time to time, look at a watch on her dainty wrist; the watch she forgot to put on that morning or was it a matter that it did not exist? There was doubt that there ever was a watch. Mom never followed the dictates of time all that much. Tea was much too important.

She would think to herself, “Dear, dear, dear.... where could the children be?” “They are going to miss afternoon tea.” “Barbies can't wait forever you know.” “I think I'm going to stop sending out invitations and stop having babies.” Dolly's are easier to attend to and feed.”