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Author: nik
Posted: 2007-09-03 17:40:57
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It was a beautiful spring day, so the teenage mom decided to take her busy little boy for a walk (or should I say a weeble-wobble) around the apartment building. He was at that age where it was hard to keep up with him. He liked to get as far as his feet could carry him before his little legs gave out.
His favorite thing was to get outside and explore. He was finally able to make it down the stairs all by himself, a feat which he expected to be met with applause every single time.
After bypassing the play ground (he didn't want to take time to swing or slide today, he had lots of ground to cover) he slowly made it over the steep bridge. Then he followed the winding sidewalk all the way to the other side before stopping on the porch of an elderly couple. It was an afternoon ritual for the two. They liked to sit together and listen to music while they watched other people go about their busy lives.
The lady, Helen, lit up upon the site of the little visitor. "Hi sweety" she said. "why don't you come over here and sit with us" she told the little man, who was already helping himself to their bowl of chex mix. Her wrinkled face made more wrinkles as she laughed. Fragile but firm arms underneath her brown embroidered sweater (the kind that anyone else would have given to the Salvation Army by now) reached across to pick up the visitor and draw him close to her.
And then a tiny miracle occurred. "Take a break, honey," said one generation to another, one tired mother to another. So like an old favorite blanket, familiarity comforted the young caregiver. Her soft teenage smile flashed compliance to the wisdom standing before her.
Helen walked him and talked him all the way to the end of the courtyard and back. And for the first time in a long time, the aged woman felt … useful.
Time and children—and eventually grandchildren she barely met—had run from her long ago. "differences of opinion," they told her. Something about their "own lives to live" had shipped them off to other cities, other worlds.
She couldn't remember the last time a baby's velvet face had brushed hers.
But there are some things a mother cannot forget.
And so memory's affection soothed both the 1-year-old bundle and the wrinkled life holding him. So much so that Baby Boy happily sat still. Mama-teen rested. Elderly bones felt important again. And absolute strangers became family for a simple, satisfying moment. |
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