My daddy is in the hospital and I ask for everyone's prayers as they do tests to find out what is wrong. Thank you in advance.
It is fairly early, especially for around here. I've been emailing back and forth with some friends planning a baby shower.
Delia is gone, Shelby is still sleeping, Izzy is working on rewriting a poem, and Max is on the computer playing Handy Manny.
I need a shower, bad. Really bad.
Everything is still and fairly quiet so I sneak off to the bathroom. When I say sneak, I mean sneak - literally.
I hear Handy Manny say, Hola, Amigos.
I tip-toe, literally, down the hall and around the corner from where Max is.
I hear Manny say, We've got a job to do.
I quietly get a towel out of the dryer so Max won't hear me open the linen closet door.
I hear Manny say, Building a racecar will be fun.
I hold the doorknob as I softly close the bathroom door so Max won't hear it.
I faintly hear Manny say, Click here for this tool.
So far, so good.
I turn the water on steaming hot and step in. Oh, it is nice.
And then . . .
"Mama,"
Sigh.
"Yes, son?"
"Can I ge 'n wi ou?"
Sigh.
"Yes, son."
"O-tay, tank ou."
I adjust the water and think, where did I go wrong?
Maybe it was the showers when he was a baby, holding him in my arms and twirling under the warm water. I remember him laughing a toothless grin as he tried to hold on while slipping. You won't fall, baby, mama's got you.
Maybe it was the first time I allowed him to stay in after me and play with cups under a soft flow of water trickling. Just this once, baby. Yeah, right.
He's still in the shower now and I hear him rambling on and on about the fireman's water. I sit here typing this quickly so I don't forget. I never want to forget.
And just now,
in the background, I hear Shelby say . . .
"Max, get out, I have to get ready for work."
I hear Max say . . .
"Fi mor' minuts, peass?"
Sigh. Smile. Sigh again.
I didn't go wrong.
