Mother's Day at the Ponderosa

By Tennessee

Ben had saved some of all three of the boys' ma's things to give them¾things that their ma's had wanted their son to have. He knew Mother's Day was always hard on them. Adam was real little when his ma passed away. And Hoss was a baby when his ma passed away. The only may they all knew was Marie. And she loved them all like her own sons, and Adam and Hoss both called her Ma too.

Little Joe knew and had more time with his ma than his brothers. But they all missed their ma's so much on Mother's Day that it broke Ben's heart. Marie had been dead for two years now. But Little Joe still talked about her a lot. Adam was so little when his ma died that he talked a little about her singing to him but that was all he would say or knew about his mother. Hoss's ma died not long after giving birth to he only knew his ma through the stories Ben and Adam told him. Ben had told Adam and Hoss everything he could remember about their ma's. He had Adam's box of his ma's things ready to give him, and Hoss too. But Ben had not opened the chest with all of Marie's thing since she had died. But he knew it was time.

One day the boys went fishing with Tess, Ann, and Sue to spend the day after their work was done. When they left, Ben told Hop Sign he could have the rest of the day off. So Hop Sing went to town. Ben went into his room and opened the chest with Marie's thing and started to look at them. He found a letter she had written to him. Ben put the letter down and found a few books and writing paper and pen and Marie's journal and her wedding dress in the chest. Ben had given all of Marie's other dresses away, but this was the first time he had looked at the rest of her things. When he found a big box in her things, he opened it. Marie must have gotten the boys a gift for their birthdays and put them in her chest to save until their special days. She had done that a lot when she was alive, planning ahead, buying the boys gifts for their birthdays and Christmas long before the time drew near.

Ben had tears in his eyes when he saw she had a gift put away for him too. Ben put everything back in the chest and closed it and then he got Adam and Hoss's boxes and put them with Marie's chest. When the boys got home Ben was at the table waiting for them, and when the boys got in the door, Ben said "hi" to them and asked them to sit down with him at the table. They sat down. Ben said, "Mother's Day is soon. I have something for all of you. I saved some of your ma's things for all of you."

The boys looked at each other and Hoss said, "What do you mean, Pa?"

Ben said, "From your real ma's, Hoss. I know you and Adam think of Marie as your ma."

Adam asked, "Why didn't you give them to us before, Pa?"

"It was hard on me, boys. I loved all your ma's with all my heart. I got boxes for you and Hoss from your ma's," Ben said. "Adam, come with me."

When they got to Ben's room, he handed Adam the box. "Do you want me to stay?"

Adam said yes and opened the box. Inside was his mother's wedding ring and a rock and a book with a page underlined. When he read it, he saw it was the words to the song Pa said she used to sing to Adam. And then there was a flower pressed into a book.

Ben said, "The ring was your grandmother's wedding ring, and your ma wore it too. The rock was next to your ma the day I asked her to marry me. And the song is the one your ma sang to you the day you were born. The flower was in your ma's hair the day we got married. Adam, I loved your ma very much. I've saved this for you for a long time. All of the things in that box were things your mother loved, and she loved you very much."

Adam put the things back in the box and took them with him. Ben asked Hoss to come into the room and gave him his box. Hoss opened it and found his ma's wedding dress and her wedding ring and a homemade quilt. "Pa?" Hoss asked. "Why is her wedding ring in here?"

"Before your ma passed away, she gave me her wedding ring and asked me to give it to you when you got big enough. She hoped you might give this ring to your bride one day. The quilt she made after she found out she was going to have a baby. You look just like your ma, Hoss. She loved you so much."

Hoss took his box, and Little Joe came into the room. "Pa, I want Hoss and Adam to come in here, too, 'cause Ma loved them too." And Ben called his two older sons into the room.

"Let's all sit down and look at Marie's things."

Adam said, "Little Joe, would you like to look at Ma's things without us."

"No, Adam, we should do it together." He opened the chest and saw the letter. "What's this, Pa?"

"It's a letter from your ma to all of us."

"Read it, Pa," Little Joe said.

Ben opened the letter and read aloud. "When your pa said we were moving west, I wrote this and now I will put in my chest so if anything should happen to me you will all know how much I love you. Ben, my love, you are a kind and sweet man. I fell in love with you the first time I saw you. Adam, when we first met, you were so little and shy my heart went out to you. And Eric, you were so cute I loved to hold you in my arms. The more time I spend with you, the more I love all of you. Ben, when you asked me to marry you and I said yes, I felt like Adam and Eric became my own sons. It touched my heart how you accepted me into your family. A few years later I gave birth to Joseph and we were a happy family. I love all of you very much. Ma."

Ben put the letter down and saw all the boys had tears in their eyes. Little Joe took out the books from the chest and looked at them. He handed them to Adam and gave Ben the paper and pen. When he got to Marie's journal, he asked if it was his ma's too. Ben said, "Yes, son. Keep it and read it when you're ready."

Then Little Joe saw the box with the gifts. He got it out and opened it and there was a gift for everyone. He handed the gifts out. Ben's gift was a shirt she had made. Adam and Hoss received books. On the cover of both books she had written "Love Ma." Little Joe's gift was a journal for him to write in and on the cover she had written, "My son, I got you a journal so you can write in it. Love Ma."

Everyone was sad for a few days. They all put their ma's things away to keep. But Adam kept the book with the song his ma had sung to him on his nightstand, Hoss put the quilt his ma had made on his bed, and Little Joe kept Marie's journal under his pillow at night and slept with it.

On Mother's Day they all looked at their Ma's things again. Little Joe told his brothers, "After I read Ma's journal, I'll let you both read it, ok?" His brothers said that was fine but told Little Joe to take his time reading it. Little Joe said, "I'm glad you two are my brothers."

They said, "Us too, little brother."

Ben asked, "Did having some of your ma's things help you all for Mother's Day?"

And they all said yes.

"That's good."

The boys went to bed thinking about their ma's. Ben went outside for a minute before going to bed. He thought about his wives and the sons they had given him. As he got into bed he thought about how happy he was that the boys now had the things their mothers had left them, and that it had helped them feel better on Mother's Day.

And then he went to sleep.

The End.