A Mother’s Weather Forecast
Written by Susie Lloyd
Inspiration
For your day today, sunny, with low humidity. Temperature hovering around 80 degrees. It’s going to be gorgeous, so get out there and enjoy it.
The TV weather babe clinched it with: Have yourself a great one!
Weather people are notorious for their mistakes. No matter how often they get it right, the rest of us prefer to remember the time they forecasted a baseball game and it was called on account of Christmas.
She had told me the day was mine to enjoy, but after spending it attending to the needs of home and loved ones, my day hadn’t really ever gotten started. I reflected on that as I tucked two-year-old Melanie into bed at 9 p.m. Her baby brother lay quietly in his crib. One down, one to go.
Kiss the last one good night and then, finally, it will be time for me.
“Tell me a story!” she demanded as I laid her head on her pillow.
I stopped mid-kiss. I should have expected it. It was the perfect ending to a perfectly put-off day. It was like a lot of days in the season of my motherhood-easy enough to forecast:
Low humidity and bright sunlight makes this a great day to start that painting project! Wet in the dining room as you strip wallpaper, followed by patchy wall conditions. Keep those hardwood floors well covered and the spackle handy. Intermittent laundry mingled with meal prep throughout.
Ninety percent chance of showers early in the evening, depending upon whether your 6-year-old forgets to change the shower setting back to tub when she’s done. If you venture to the tub this evening to wash out stockings, bring the umbrella.
Thunderstorms approach the basement at around 8 p.m., as application for your daughter’s student loan begins. Hot air brings potentially serious conditions. Caution: Avoid this area.
Dense fog rolls in when a friend phones and talks alternately with you, her kids, and her cat. Fatigue advisory in place.
At 9 p.m. there is a slight chance of relaxing with a good book. More than likely, though, this will be edged out by storytime.
I looked into Melanie’s eager little face. What the heck? My day could wait five more minutes.
“Once upon a time…” I began creatively. Melanie grinned. My brain was mushier than that evening’s leftover stew, but she wasn’t picky. “There was a little girl named Susie. She had a lot of brothers and sisters and a mom and a dad to take care of her. She never had to worry about making a living. The only thing she ever thought about was how to have fun every day.”
“Then she grew up.”
Mel was still grinning, imperious to my inner melodrama. Something told me she wasn’t expecting One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
“Then she grew up and had lots of kids,” I said, smiling. “The littlest girl was named Melanie. She never had to worry about making a living. The only thing she had to do every day was think about having fun. She played all day long!”
I kissed and tickled her for special effects. She laughed, and as I felt her breath on my face, her joy seemed to seep into me. Six-month-old Joseph heard, rolled over in his crib, and started fussing.
“It was wonderful. The end.” Melanie shut her eyes tight. She went to sleep, and I went to my next duty-feeding Joseph and waiting for him to go to sleep in his own good time. I picked him up, held him close, and realized that my day would never come. It had been there all along.
Motherhood will continue on indefinitely through the evening, bringing with it a warm front of satisfaction and peace.
Have yourself a great one!
Susie Lloyd is the author of the award-winning Please Don't Drink the Holy Water! A sequel to this book is due out later this year from Sophia Institute Press.
“A Mother’s Weather Forecast” is reprinted with permission from Susie Lloyd. It originally appeared in Faith & Family Magazine, March/April 2008.
