My dog rat ate my homework.

tuliptreeEr, sorry Mouse but you asked for it. Love you anyway 😉 My sweet little mousey is a college senior at a small expensive private liberal arts college. And her grade reports have always included an abundance of As, with an occasional B. Middle school? We won’t talk about it. (Actually, I don’t even wanna talk about *my* middle school junior high experience. Blech!) But that stuff is long ago and so the call I received tonight took me a bit by surprise. Homework due tomorrow? Haven’t finished it yet? Why do you need my help? Important life-changing events over the last 22 years? Oh…

Okay. This kind of stuff is always hard for me. Our little family (knock on wood big-time) hasn’t ever encountered unplanned job loss or home foreclosure or serious illness or death of anyone except those who were ready to die. We haven’t (knock on wood big-time) been in car crashes unless you count the time the tornado hit us. Hmm, that’s an event, isn’t it, even though we all survived without a scratch? So, what can I think of…

Speaking of that tornado, I think it was in 1997, if that helps.

Yes, you did actually talk at nine months. Those were the days when dad and I worked at the same place and I would drive you guys over there every afternoon at 2 PM and he would come out and drive you home. We didn’t share a job but I worked part-time and we flexed our hours. One day, after I got out of the car, you said, very clearly, “Bye-bye Mama.” And you waved. And by the time you were 18 months, you were doing complete, perfectly enunciated sentences, and you weren’t just mimicking. There was content in there.

There was the time when you and your mouse were talking to your nursery school teacher and you peered at your teacher, the wonderful Annie, like she might be crazy and said, “You do know that this isn’t a real mouse, it’s just a toy.”

Then there was the time I bribed you to attend theatre camp. I’m not sure we have to go any further with that, Ms. Mouse. How many plays and how many theatrical positions do you have under your belt now?

And I thought of some more things but I emailed them and I will email more if/when I think of more.

Okay, that’s just a few of the things I can think of. I know you will get your homework finished by tomorrow. By hook or by crook. Thank you for turning out to be such a wonderful person in spite of whatever I tried to burn into your brain.

The photo is for The Commander, who grew up on her grandparents’ farm in Garden City and might like to see some typical early blooming trees in southeast Michigan.

2 Responses to “My dog rat ate my homework.”

  1. Sam Says:

    Are Japanese magnolias typical, though? (That’s the name I know, yet they’re native to China—go figure!)

  2. Margaret Says:

    A mother always knows–I put my kids in stuff that they griped about, but ended up enjoying! It’s nice that she called you for help. I haven’t heard from my two for several days and it’s making me antsy.