Day 9

The other day, my oldest sister left me a message to give her a call. She's not much for chatting, but with the impending Christmas season and knowing she had drawn my name in the family gift exchange, I figured she just wanted some gift ideas. Then, my other sister left me a message indicating she wanted to catch up since it had been a while since we'd talked. That, as well, sounded legitimate because she's one of these people who is so on top of things that she probably has a schedule for contacting family members on regular basis so that we don't fall out of touch. But then the phone rang once more. My cell phone can be programmed with personalized rings for each caller, but I didn't recognize the particular tune until it dawned on me that it had been assigned to my little brother's phone number; a number that has never graced my phone's screen without me dialing it first. And then it hit me: MOTHER!


Yes, it was painfully clear that my own mother had commissioned my three siblings to call me because she was worried I would die of boredom without my husband around to entertain me. She probably thought I was sitting by my phone, praying for contact with the outside world while consuming crates of bon-bons and watching weepy romantic films like "The Way We Were" or any other of Robert Redford's cryfests. In actuality, I was so busy that it took me a few days to get back to them. To their credit, they didn't deny my mother's involvement in the phone calling barrage, though they all insisted they had been meaning to call me anyway. (Which may or may not be true depending on the sibling.)

Despite their obvious motivation, I'm glad they called. And I'm really glad that I have a mom who worries about me and cares about me and knows that today is Day 9 without my husband even if she doesn't know this blog exists. She's always thinking about her children and she always finds ways to cheer us up. She's truly dedicated to our various causes. She's our biggest supporter, protector and nurturer. She's practically a saint. I mean, how else can I explain my brother's phone call? It's nothing short of miraculous. Thanks, mom!