She interrupted my morning plan.
Instead of wiping down woodwork and watering plants,
I watched Thomas the CHOO! CHOO! Train,
read fairytales forever and ever,
her black satin curls tickling my nose
as she clapped her hands and wriggled in my lap.
We made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,
licked globs of thick nutty butter off our fingers,
and smeared purple mounds of oozing jelly
onto her sticky pink cheeks.
We laughed and hollered, Yum! Yum!
while the dog jumped and barked
‘round our feet begging
for chewed chunks
cascading from the laced bib.
When her mother returned
with packages and outside air,
her round torso tight with Spring child,
we greeted her with squeals and hugs,
then shared our gooey bounty,
recited the tales,
and sang our songs.
The trilling of the child’s voice ~
clamoring, chattering our names over and over
“Mommee! MomMom! MomMomee!”
cooing, coaxing, cajoling,
made my head whirl
with the wild music of her euphonic whimsy.
She twirled and hopped
and plopped with thumps and bumps
until her glee gave way to hiccups
that popped from giggles
inside musical bubbles.
When her brightness began to fade
and she reached for Pink Bear,
her mother buttoned her into her lavender coat
with the big blue and green daisy on the back
(just beneath her curls),
and took her home for a nap,
shutting the door behind them.
Adorned in my Fairy Princess kiss,
I waved goodbye from the window.
I turned off the light
in the kitchen –
The click of the switch startled me;
or was it the color of gray turned on?
I picked up the purple book from the floor,
“Mother Goose Rhymes”,
that just minutes before
rollicked with Wee Willy Winkie, Bo Beep,
and Jack jumping over his candlestick.
The cumbrous book thick with giants and castles,
pressed heavy against my chest.
I hugged it, sinking my chin
into slick vanilla pages,
and placed it back on the shelf
between Thumbelina and Winnie the Pooh.
Cookie crumbs, scattered like
chocolate confetti
taunted that the party was over –
time to clean up.
I soaked my sponge in soapy water,
swiped looping frames
around finger tip smudges,
and watered my plants with cherry Kool Aid.
The hollow whine of my vacuum cleaner
gulped smothering spaces of
fluffy pink silence while
I hummed, “Here we go ’round the Mulberry Bush”….