So that’s why I am crying.
But my teacher tries to console me by hugging me into her shirt. Her shirt also smells like old pecans.
“You smell like old pecans,” I tell her.
She stops holding me.
Then Mom shows up. She smiles at me. I am happy again.
Years later, Mom told me her side of the story:
“I had to rush back from work to pick you up, and I’d get stuck in Los Angeles traffic. I knew I was going to be late, so I would pray that, somehow, I could get there not so late. Because, in California traffic, you could be stopped for hours. I prayed and I prayed. I was never more than 10 minutes late. Of course, you were still crying. But you were OK. I was always happy to see you.”
She said, when she saw me, the knot in her heart disappeared.
Then I asked, “Why didn’t you call the school from your cell?”
“That was before cell phones,” she said.
Then I remembered, one time, she stopped at a gas station to call the school and tell them she’d be late. My teacher told me my mom had called. I still cried.
Wouldn’t have matter if she called or not. I’d be crying either way.
But, at that moment, it meant the world to me.
Then Mom shows up. She smiles at me. I am happy again.
***
Years later, Mom told me her side of the story:
“I had to rush back from work to pick you up, and I’d get stuck in Los Angeles traffic. I knew I was going to be late, so I would pray that, somehow, I could get there not so late. Because, in California traffic, you could be stopped for hours. I prayed and I prayed. I was never more than 10 minutes late. Of course, you were still crying. But you were OK. I was always happy to see you.”
She said, when she saw me, the knot in her heart disappeared.
Then I asked, “Why didn’t you call the school from your cell?”
“That was before cell phones,” she said.
Then I remembered, one time, she stopped at a gas station to call the school and tell them she’d be late. My teacher told me my mom had called. I still cried.
Wouldn’t have matter if she called or not. I’d be crying either way.
But, at that moment, it meant the world to me.
