Just a Few Praises

Happy Birthday, Coco!

"Mom, can you run over and watch Xanthe while I run to the store?"
"Mom, is it OK if Freestone and Jake come over while I zip over to Ari's classroom?"
"Mom, can you run Golda to ballet? Ruby to voice? Both girls to modern? Can you pick them up?"
"Mom, can you handle Ari's cello lesson today while I take Golda to flute?"

I always try to make my requests seem less overwhelming by using words like "zip" and "run." But even if it's a bigger request than it seems, the answer is always, "Sure!" Like my mom has been sitting around just wondering what she can do to help me. Like she's really hoping a bunch of kids come over to trash her house and destroy her solitude.

It's not just my kids, either. It's Esmae and Abram and all my kids' friends and cousins, too. Everybody calls her Coco, and I think some of the kids think she's theirs. Why else would she give you a popsicle and say how wonderful you are, every time you walk in her house? Last year, she made a poodle skirt for Golda, and another one for Golda's friend, just because she was there.

On top of all the requests she responds to, Coco also reads to the kids, invites them out to dinner, organizes their closets, shops with them and discusses their lives with me at great lengths. That's a whole other batch of questions that all start with, "Mom, do you think I should..." or "Mom, I have to decide if..."

Coco helped potty train Xanthe. She knows all the tricks I use in Freestone's practicing. She keeps up on the minutiae of Ari's school days. She asks about how Ruby is doing in all her lessons. She knows just how much Golda worked for that "Clara callback."

In short, Scott and I would have a completely different lifestyle without my mom. I wish every girl in the world had her mom living right next door. That song, "The Wind Beneath My Wings," is so cliche...and so perfect to describe my mom. You can't see the wind, and it never gets credit for all the work it does. Mom, I know you're reading this with an English teacher's eye, so I hope I haven't mixed any metaphors or left any participles dangling. Thanks for everything! I have to go now. Can you just run over here and watch Xanthe while I zip the boys to school? Thanks!