It's "spot on" and quite poignant. I know you'll love it and oh, so relate to it.
Dear Annie: A long time ago, I read an essay listing all the things Mom does before going to bed, and I remember thinking how true it was. Could you possibly reprint it? -- Sandy in Illinois
Dear Sandy: Here it is -- just in time for Mother’s Day:
Mom and Dad were watching TV when Mom said, “I’m tired and it’s getting late. I think I’ll go to bed.”
She went to the kitchen to make sandwiches for the next day’s lunches, rinsed the popcorn bowls, took meat out of the freezer for supper the following evening, checked the cereal box levels, filled the sugar container, put spoons and bowls on the table and set up the coffee pot for brewing the next morning. She then put some wet clothes into the dryer, sewed on a loose button, picked up the newspapers strewn on the floor and the game pieces left on the table and put the telephone book back into the drawer. She watered the plants, emptied a wastebasket, hung up a towel to dry, wrote a note to the teacher and counted out some cash for the kids’ field trip. She signed a birthday card for a friend, addressed and stamped the envelope, and wrote a quick reminder for the grocery store. She put some water into the dog’s dish and put the cat outside, then made sure the doors were locked.
Mom washed her face, put on moisturizer, and brushed and flossed her teeth. Her husband called, “I thought you were going to bed.”
“I’m on my way,” she replied. She looked in on each of the children, turned out a bedside lamp, hung up a shirt, threw some dirty socks in the hamper and had a brief conversation with the older one, who was up doing homework. In her own room, she set the alarm, laid out clothes for the next day, straightened up the shoe rack and added three chores to her list of things to do tomorrow.
About that time, her husband turned off the TV and announced to no one in particular, “I’m going to bed,” and he did.
Enjoy, Claudia
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