I
had a pleasant memory just now.
Creedence
Clearwater Revival came across my radio and it took me back to the day they
were playing on the radio when I was little. The song was "Looking Out my
Back Door".
It
was summer and Mom had the windows and doors open. A nice breeze came through the
house. We were canning.
My
favorite part of canning was always snapping the green beans. My least
favorite, tomatoes. I never liked helping with canning the tomatoes. They
stained everything and I would find seeds for days.
When
the song came on, Mom stopped what she was doing and stopped my sister and me.
I
smiled because I knew what was coming up. Mom smiled real big, reached her
hands out to us both and began belting out "Tambourines and elephants are
playing in the band. Why don't you take a ride on a flying spoon..."
I
remember asking why the elephants were in a band. Without skipping a beat, she
said, "Why, they make the best drummers of course".
My
sister and I laughed and laughed while dancing with our mom.
She
always danced with us. Always. She had this way of making life more alive; less
scary. She knew just how to make us feel safe and secure.
She
still does. She is my rock, my hero and someone I am proud to call Mom. She
knew the perfect amount of rope to give me and when to pull it back so I
wouldn’t get lost in this world. She still has hold of the rope.
She
is an amazing, strong woman and that smile on her face, the peace in her eyes,
it lets me know elephants really do make the best drummers.
