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| Mom, with Chris and Jerry. Mom's the cute one in the middle. |
With six kids, one husband, assorted hired men and various other duties and hobbies, she did a lot of it.
A lot.
I think she did it in her sleep.
Certainly, she did it in ours. If we lay down on the carpet in the front room for a nap, we would be picked up and cleaned.
That's just how Mom was.
But, as with any demon cleaner, sometimes the clutter and rubble would get away from her.
Particularly if she was busy with a project and unable to follow us around, picking up and tidying after us.
I can remember two instances when this was brought hilariously to my attention.
The kids in the neighbourhood had been playing at my house.
I don't remember what we were doing, but it involved toys and games.
And mess.
After most of the kids had left, Mom came out of the kitchen and surveyed the detritus that can only be the result of many small bodies . . . having fun.
While she was standing there, Laurie, from next door, twitched her apron.
Mom looked down.
"You sure have a messy house, Mrs. Strin-gam!"
I don't know what Mom said in response.
Probably something tactful, knowing my Mom.
But the story lost nothing in the retelling.
Another time, George and I were playing under the kitchen table.
One of our favourite places...
Mom was bustling around in the business area of the room.
She opened a cupboard.
And pulled out something . . . unexpected.
"What the . . . who put this underwear in my cupboard?!"
What she was holding was actually a pair of swim trunks.
Light grey.
With sharks printed on them.
But why quibble over details.
George and I stared at them.
Then laughed uproariously.
Mom snorted, folded them neatly, and carried them to their proper home.
We never found out who left them there.
Over the years, I've made up several scenarios that would account for it.
None practical.
Or believable.
But after that, at least once a week, George and I would hide something 'underwearish' (not a real word - I made it up) in Mom's cupboard and wait for her to find it.
Then laugh ourselves silly when she did.
Okay, we were little.
Things were funnier then.
There is an addendum.
I was busy in the kitchen, cooking, cleaning.
One of the myriad duties that accompany the care and feeding of six kids and one husband.
I set a pot in the sink and opened a cupboard door.
"What the . . . who put these dirty socks in my cupboard?!"
It had happened. I had become my mother!
Thanks for sharing the story of the "found" items in the kitchen in the past and the present. These salient moments create cherished memories and bring people's relationships and personalities into focus. It's valuable to many that you are creating these records.
ReplyDeleteI so agree, Karen! IT is important to keep these memories. So many of them are lost with the generation!
DeleteWe all become our mothers, eventually. For me, that is a good thing and I always smile when I catch myself doing so.
ReplyDeleteSo do I!
DeleteHah! Full circle :) And did your children decide to hide a "gift" for you from time to time like you and your brother did?
ReplyDeleteI loved this bit - "Okay, we were little. Things were funnier then." Little kids do have an uncomplicated sense of humour, and use it freely - so true!
I read a list of things we need to do every day to maintain our sanity in this trying world. One was, "Laugh like a ten-year-old". I couldn't agree more. Yesterday, I was at a granddaughter's 8th birthday party. For a little while after pizza they were watching dog and cat videos on Youtube. I discovered I was laughing as much as they were. It was quite freeing...
DeleteI pretty much read sites like the lolcats for stress relief. Videos are good, too!
DeleteThere are many worse ways to become your mother. And certainly worse ways to become mine.
ReplyDeleteIT's so true, EC! Eeep.
DeleteYou have to have fun with your family A stick of homemade butter that ended up in the cutlery drawer (and wasn't found for several days) is still laughed about at our house.
ReplyDeleteHahahaha! My family would be chortling about that still!
DeleteHeeheehee! At least it wasn't someone accidentally putting the ice cream in the cereal cabinet by mistake.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...a little further-reaching consequences to that one, I'm thinking. Also, a story...?
DeleteMy mother loved a clean tidy house and we were made to put our things away when we had finished playing with them, as soon as we could safely carry our toys. Her reasoning: if you can get it out then you are certainly able to put it back. We would never have dared to put anything in the wrong place. My kids got it easier. They'd play all day and right before dinner all the toys would be swept down the hall, with a broom, into the spare room and that door would be shut on the mess until next morning. They loved "sweeping up" for me.
ReplyDeleteMy kids would have loved that as well. The 'putting the toys away as soon as you've finished with them'? Not so much. But they did it.
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