Today I made another discovery! Knowing that my mother would really enjoy them, I had bought some Hershey's Kisses. I decided to arrange them in a two-tiered candy dish, one that had never before been used. I placed some of the Kisses on the bottom plate and some shelled gourmet nuts, a gift from my brother, on the top plate. Because I must always tell Mother what I have placed in front of her, I explained about the candy.
"Why are they called Kisses?" she asked me.
"I really don't know," I told her, "but maybe it's because they taste so good that everyone smacks their lips when they eat them."
She gave me her usual retort, "Oh, you can always think of an answer! You think of everything!"
I held my tongue, for my inner reaction to this routine response was to take it as criticism. Mother, who has had several strokes and often doesn't know me, daily accuses me of lying.
But this time Mother continued. "How do you think of such good explanations?," she wanted to know. "I think that's probably the reason for the name. You are always so good at explaining."
"What is that part of speech that can be either a noun or a verb?" she added.
This grammar question often comes up for she remembers it was on the teacher-certification exam she took in 1925. So I explained about gerunds yet again.
After a few minutes I realized something had happened, and I was amazed. Had I been misinterpreting her responses these many months, or had my point of view somehow changed? Had what I had been taking as sarcastic criticism for so many months been the opposite?
I decided then that I would look for the positive in all that Mother says, even if it takes some creativity on my part.
I few nights later as I put Mother to bed, I bent over and kissed her good night and as usual spoke into her nearly deaf ear, "Good night, Mother. I love you."
"I love you, too," she said, "whoever you are."
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