第27章生日的承诺TheBirthdayPromise(2)
Thatbringstomiimemybelovedparakeet,BuckeyeBird,flewintpanwhileybreakfast。Iosedtolethimoutofhiscage,butIhad,andheburhoughtyou’dbesomadatme,butallyoukaboutwasgettientionforthatpoorbird。Thepharmacistthoughtyouwerenutswhebrandofantibioticcreamhewouldreendtorubo。
Speakingoffunnyanimalstories,doyouremypethamster,Browuthedryerhose?YoucalledSears,whereyou’dpurchasedtheclothesdryer,toaskhowwemightgethimoutofthepredit。Theytoldyoutoturnonthemadtheinitialthrustofairwouldpushhimthrough。Wedid,aheHamsterballflewthroughtheair。Daddycaughthiminhisbaseballglove。Itwashardtobelieve,buttheexplodioseeanotherday!
Whidsme。。。doyourecollectthetimeIblewupthestovewhiletryingtirlScoutgbadge?Ittookayearformyeyebrowsaogrowback。Yousleptwithmethatnightawasn’tmyfault。Still,itwasalongtimebeforeyouleftmealo。
&oldyouthisbefore,butaftermybakingfiasothersharedwithmeasecretaboutthepressurecivenyouasaweddinggift。Thefirsttimeyouusedit,you’dsetthetimerto“high”andyourdiofthekitlightfixture。GrandmatoldmeittookDaddyaweektoscrapeitofftheg。AtleastIonlylostfacialhair。
Yourmothermusticizedyou,becauseyouuredorpunishedmeforallthefoolishthingsIdidthroughtheyears。YousaidthateverythingerieasachildIhadaionaomyowndrummer。
IthinkI’mstillthatway,Mom。AndthatisexactlywhatItrytofowhenyhtersareyankingmy。They’redoiheymissyou。Bothofthemkeepaphotoofyouintheirlivingrorand,allfiveofthem,willtheir“NanaVirginia。”
Youroudofmygirls。YounevermissedaewhatagoodjobIwasdthemup。IwantyoutoknowhowmuchythatmeaI’thavedohoutyou。
Yhtersbothhaveyourtendernessay。Irememberthetimetheoldestoorunawayfromhome。Sheannouncedoverdishewasleavingtogolivewithhergras,sixblocksaway,becauseIwasmueaolockthekidinherroom。YousuggestedthatIletherworkitoutohatitwouldbealearningexperience。Shepackedsuchaheavysuitcase;shemadeitjustthreeblocksbeforeshecollapsedinfrontoftheneighborhoodbakery。Theownerdroveherhomeirudgaveheradozendoughilllooksatmeinafunny
Mom,doyouthinkthelessohatdayacklightwhentravelingadistawh。Shewastootiredtorecallwhyshewasangryandtoofullofidealdoughnutstocare。
&ly,yranddaughterwaslookingatallthepicturesyou’dtakewoofyouhadtraveledtottenhowmanytriesyou’dvisitedovertheyears。Idoremember,likeitwasyesterday,thecallgotsayingthatyouhadtocutshortyourHawaiianvisionbecauseyou’dbeenhurtbyasurfboardoWaikikiaystity。Yhterstayedupallnightaoyourhem,shemadealltheflightarraogetyouhome。Shewasonlythirteenyearsold。Youweresoproudofher。
Iknowthatfeelingtoday,Mom,whewohersmydaughtershavebee。
Asfrand,allIsayisthattheyhaveanoverabundaherthat,ettingold。Aphotooftheentirefamilysitsonmydresser。Everyonelookssohappy。Westillare。Ithoughtyou’dliketohearthat。It’sdifficultwithoutyou,butIthinkwe’refiingether。
It’sgettinglate,soI’mgoingtoputawayysforhisagaiyear,promise。
Happybirthday,Mom。