When the good Lord was creating
mothers , he was into his sixth day of overtime, when the angel appeared
and said, "You're doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."
And the Lord said, "Have
you read the specs on this one? She has to be completely washable,
but not plastic; have 180 moveable parts, all replaceable; run on black
coffee and leftovers; have a lap that disappears when she stands up; a
kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair;
and six pairs of hands."
The angel shook her head
slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands...no way."
"Its not the hands that are
causing me problems," said the Lord.
"Its the three pairs of eyes
that mothers have to have."
"That's on the standard model?"
asked the angel.
The Lord nodded. "One pair
that sees through closed doors when she asks, "What are you kids doing
in there?" when she already knows. Another here, in the back of her
head, that sees what she shouldn't, but what she has to know, and of course
the ones here in the front that can look at a child when he goofs up and
say, "I understand and I love you," without so much as uttering a word."
"Lord," said the angel, touching
his sleeve gently, "Rest for now....Tomorrow....."
"I can't," said the Lord.
"I am so close to creating something close to myself. Already i have one
that heals herself when she is sick, can feed a family of six on one pound
of hamburger, and can get a nine year old to stand under a shower."
The angel circled the model
of the mother very slowly. "She is too soft," she sighed.
"But tough!" said the Lord
excitedly. "You cannot imagine what the mother can do or endure."
"Can she think?" asked the
angel.
"Not only think, but she
can reason and compromise,"
said the creator.
Finally the angel bent over
and ran her finger across the cheek . "There's a leak," she pronounced.
"I told you, you were trying to put too much into this model."
"It's not a leak," said the
Lord. "It's a tear."
"What's it for?"
"It's for joy, sadness, disappointment,
pain, loneliness, and pride."