A Mother's Plea

 My dear daughter,

  the day you see me old,

  I ask. 

 please be patient,

  but above all

  try to understand.

If when we talk,

I repeat the same thing a thousand times,

do not interrupt me to say "I already told that"

only listen to me please.

And remember the days when you were a kid

and I read the same story 

night after night 

until you stayed asleep.

When I want to bathe,

do not scold me 

and please do not try to embarrass me,

just remember the times I had to chase you

with the thousand excuses 

that you used as a kid.

When you see my ignorance of the new technology,

give me the time to learn,

and please do not do those eyes

or those desperate faces.

Remember my dear, 

I taught you to do many things

such as eating properly,

getting dressed 

and combing

 for yourself

and how to confront

and deal with life.

The day I notice that I'm getting old,

please bear with me

and try to understand everything. 

If you occasionally lose the memory 

or the thread of the conversation,

give me time to remember 

and if I can not,

do not get nervous, 

impatient 

or arrogant. 

Just keep in mind

in your heart

that the most important thing for me 

is being with you 

and listening to you.

And when my tired old legs  

do not leave me walking as before,

give me your hand,

in the same way that I offered them

 when you took your first steps.

When these days come, 

you should not feel sad

or incompetent 

to see me so,

I ask only 

that you're with me,

you try to understand me 

and help me

while I finish my life 

with love.

And with great affection 

for the gift of time and life,

we had the joy of sharing together,

I appreciate it.

With a huge smile

and the immense love I have always had,

just want to say 

I love you,

my dear daughter ......

Anonymous

                               (translated from a Spanish posting, and edited, and re-formated)

Four batteries

 . 

   
After finishing her morning route,  
the driver stops at the bus garage 
to fuel the bus.
Three miles from home,
the bus waterpump breaks,
the engine overheats,
sprays anti-freeze on the alternator,
battery discharge alarm sounds, 
so she must return to bus garage.


She is assigned an older,
mechanically suspect substitute bus
for her evening route.

As forecasted the afternoon weather
becomes stormy
with lightening,
and strong thunderstorms.

On her radio she hears that tornado warnings have been issued
to areas just south of the afternoon route, so she keeps an eye on the sky.


The skies are filled with fast moving, green grey clouds.


As she moves through a small town the tornado siren blares,
the school garage radio reports a tornado is sighted
about five miles south of her location.
She is advised that she may have
to park the bus
and evacuate her passengers.

Conditions appear to be improving
so she continues driving  east.


She turns south at the state line,
As he leaves the bus, a very competent,
observant high school freshman.
 tells of seeing cloud rotation from a rear window.

Now, the danger has passed,
the rapidly moving thunderstorms are to the east
Turning north, then west, at the state line,
she sees the sun break  through the clouds
like a spotlight.



She stops, with lights flashing, then sees a old white buick rapidly approaching, and skidding on the wet road, behind the bus. The car slides into the deep ditch to the right side of the bus, slams into two buried concrete culverts, stopping just short of the opened bus passenger door.

Waiting grandparents come to the bus, the sheriff is called.

Her cell-phone battery dies
.
But the car driver was not injured,
 but his old car may be totally wrecked underneath.


Late to her second job, where, because it is friday-evening, it is short staffed,
After closing the store after 9 pm.
she drives to visit her mother at the nursing home.
Returning to her car, to drive home, the ignition is locked,
she thinks it is because the steer tires were turned.

But, it is because her car battery is dead.

So, wearing a light jacket in 30 mph cold front winds behind,
she walks a mile to the ancestral home,
to borrow her mother's handicap mini-van.

The mini-van battery is dead, won't crank the engine,

She finds the battery charger in the garage,
and extension cords, which she strings to the van, to recharge the battery.

Four batteries- cell phone, school bus, her car and now, the van.

Tired,
her adrenaline is depleted,
she finally arrives home .

All her batteries will recharge, as she sleeps.