Tuesday, January 17, 2012

For Mama

she starts the water running, warm, begins to fill the sink with suds.
i scold, no, no let's enjoy this time, let's just visit, but she fusses back that she just wants to help, to be here, and well, why not get some work done, too?
this is the time-honored rite of a mother and daughter washing dishes together: the hands ruddy and wrinkle, and the hearts bond over trivialities. we, for whom this is still new, remember the silent time soberly, for there is nothing more solemn than a mother who doesn't know her daughter or a daughter who mothers alone.
she washes; she doesn't know where my dishes go (a subtle nod to the gaps we're trying to erase), so i rinse and dry, and we continue the growing. we reverse-learn our quirks and tell each other our stories.
she tells of me-as-babe, the sarge who bossed everyone around. i tell her of shea's funny logic or avery's scaredy-cat ways. i ask her for advice on potty training (will he ever learn--yes, she insists), and we commiserate in this mutual motherhood.
despite no dishwasher (and months of my moaning otherwise), the dishes end too quickly.
water drains, gurgling.
the last dish is put away.
we no longer stand side-by-side at a sink, but the heartbeat of women working still beats.
i can't believe how big grace is, how far we've come in a year.

5 comments:

Leslie said...

i love the hope i read here (and thank you, sweet sister, for your prayer. you know you are in mine, as well...)

thetoddlerwhisperer said...

wow, you really have a way with words and the beautiful picture you paint of your budding relationship. good luck and may your years to come bring you and your mother even closer.

Nancy said...

Oh, Misty! This is beautiful--the picture of you side-by-side, closing the distance between you. I've thought of you so often, wondering what God has been doing in your life. So thankful to read these words of yours.

Hug your Owen for me. Mine turns 19 (!) tomorrow.

Unknown said...

gah.. this got me all teary.
grace , yes.
prayers for you in this journey ...

Jodi said...

I get this, Misty. And I'm so happy for you.