This is our family mouse. Or at least one that looks like it. Ours may have had an ear missing, possibly a paw, may even the tail. It had a long and adventurous life with the scars to show for it. But it started out looking like this.
The first time it appeared in our home was when one of us girls of The Girls found it behind the shower curtain while cleaning the bathtub in our bathroom. When the girl showed it to our mom, she roared with laughter, “You found it!” This was mom’s gentle and not so subtle way of making sure we cleaned as thoroughly as we should. We’d find it behind the curtains on the window sill, and other odd places. Eventually we must have learned to clean well enough because the mouse took on a new life. Another of mom’s lessons, when it’s time to move on, do it.
The mouse became the willing participant in family pranks–how could he refuse, he’s rubber? He’d disappear for days, weeks, sometimes months with the temporary owner not revealing who the mouse was hiding with. Until it showed up in someone’s bed, dresser drawer, or the best one was in mom’s jar of instant coffee, looking all brown and furry. Even though mom was at work when she opened the jar, I think we three girls heard her laughing (once the initial shock wore off) all the way to our house. Mom had a way of laughing at herself, seeing the humor in almost everything, teaching us the importance of laughter. Preferably a good hearty, from the belly until you cry or wet yourself laugh.
As we The Girls attended retreats, college, and moved away, the mouse still managed to show up. When my family and I moved to the Carolinas, as dad got in his car to drive back to Ohio, I reach into my coat pocket and felt a familiar shape–minus an ear, possibly a paw, and the stubby bottom where a tail should’ve been. The greatest lesson Mom and Dad taught us was no matter how far apart we were from each other, we were there for each other.
My sisters and I know we are extremely blessed to have had the mom–and dad–that we did. Our lives were by no means perfect, but whose is? Another lesson from Mom, gratitude in all things. She also had a deep faith she nurtured in us, but the mouse never seemed to make it to church.
I recognize Mother’s Day is a tough one for many women, and for those of you who ache for one reason or another on this day, may you be surrounded by love and gentleness.
Wishing you all a very good week!
A Writer's Window 