The leaves were starting to turn their golden colors, and a little breeze was blowing from the south. Otherwise the skies were a cloudless blue as I stood there on the playground watching the kindergartners run from the swings to the slides.
"Would you come down the slide with us Mrs. Bek? Please!" little Sarah asked, pulling on my arm.
"Lets go," I said running off with her close behind.
Up we climbed until we got to the top. It was one of those that turned around in a circle. The kids loved it.
"Mrs. Bek is going down the slide with us!" a bunch of little excited voices hollered.
"Okay, who is going first?" I asked looking around me as we stood up there.
"I will," Hannah said, pushing a little boy aside.
"Oh, don't push, Hannah. We don't want to all fall down those steps do we?"
"I want to go down beside Mrs. Bek!" someone hollered.
"I'll tell you what, I'll go down with each of you once if we have time. How's that? Hannah, do you want to be first?"
"Yes!" So down we went. Hannah sitting right in front of me. I loved each one of these little kids so much! It made me feel so happy to be able to have fun with them! Little kids were laughing, and we would get to the bottom and then race to the ladder again and back up to the top.
"I'm next! No, I'm next! Mrs. Bek, I'm next right?" What a fun time we were having, there under that big blue sky! Little kids are so special. Love and joy were written all over their little faces.
R I N G! "Whoops, there goes the bell. Have to go in and get busy! Race you to the door. But remember, we have to stand quiet in line," I said taking off at high speed, little feet running ahead of me.
"Okay, now we need to use our inside voices," the teacher said to us as we stood there in line trying to slow down our breathing. So it went, there under the October skies. Back into the class room we went all in a line. There was a bit of pushing and a whisper, "Stop it, Brian!" once in a while, but generally speaking, they marched behind the teacher as perfect little angels.
One evening in late October, we had a knock on our door. Kate was downstairs doing some homework, and Mark was reading the paper. I dried my hands on the dish towel and went to answer.
There stood Don and Eula, smiles on their little wrinkled faces, and in Don's crippled arms was the cutest little fuzzy black and brown striped kitten, all wrapped in blankets.
"Hi," said Eula with her little chuckle. "We found this little kitten in the road ditch and thought of Kate. Would she like it? It would make a nice house cat!"
"Oh, isn't it cute!" I said petting it. "Is it a male or female?"
"Male, I'm pretty sure. It needs a home, and we have way to many ourselves."
"Kate! Come up here for a minute," Mark hollered down the basement stairs and came to the kitchen to see this cute little thing.
"Oh mom, can I have it P L E A S E! I've always wanted a cat in the house! It's just so cute. Please dad! Can I?" Kate asked, taking the blanket from Don and holding it close.
Kate had always been so fond of her many barn cats through the years, and we knew she had asked us many times to be able to bring one of them inside. But, being from "old-fashioned" farm backgrounds, we always had thought of animals as being outside. But, after some thought, we decided that one cat inside would be okay. "Well, I guess you can if you promise to be the one who is responsible for its care."
"It will have to stay in the utility room while we are at school. I don't want it running the house. At least until it is house trained," I said, smiling up at Don. "How about a cup of something hot before you leave?"
"We really need to get home. We have cats to feed too, you know," Don said with a chuckle.
"Okay, but maybe next time," we said walking them to their car.
"Oh Mark, aren't they just darling in that little Plymouth hatchback! I just love them," I said waving to them as they backed out of the drive way and turned east.
So a famous cat named Skitz came to live with us. He was not an outside cat! He was Kate's constant companion. There was "litter box training" to learn. So a litter pan, a food dish, and water dish now sat in our utility room. Skitz pretty much had the run of the house.
RING..RING... What was that? A dream? What time is it anyway? RING...RING...Oh good grief, that's the phone! I jumped up out of bed, glancing at the bedside clock. It was midnight. Who could be calling at this time of night anyway. I groped in the dark, making my way out to the kitchen. I kicked my toe against a chair leg. Ouch... that hurt. RING....RING... just wait, I'm coming!
"Hello," I say into the receiver all groggy and out of breath.
"Hi Mom! What are you doing?" our wonderful college son says at the other end, fully awake.
"Are you okay?" I asked taking hold of the counter for support, my heart beating a mile a minute. After all, it was midnight.
"Yeah, we are good. Just thought we would give you a call. Adam and I are just in from the rec. What are you doing?"
"Well, it is midnight here at our house. We usually sleep around that time here on the good old farm," I said so happy to hear his voice.
"Is Kate sleeping?"
"I'm sure she is. It's dark down there. She got a house cat from Don and Eula this afternoon. Named it Skitz."
"Oh that's cute. Well, tell her and Dad hi in the morning. Just wanted to call home."
"I always love to hear your voice, but I'm glad it wasn't bad news. I'll tell them hi in the morning."
"Bye mom...sleep well...see you in a couple days."
"Love you and you get some sleep too. Bye now," I just held that receiver to my chest for a minute before slowly hanging it up. Thank goodness for telephones, so that I can hear his voice from so far away and know all is well with my boy! Slowly I made my way back through the dark, crawled in beside a snoring husband and laid there for awhile, staring into the dark room, wondering what Bret was doing in his little world.
Mark busied himself in planting wheat and cutting the little bit of milo we had planted. On weekends Kate and I were able to help bring the cows in and wean off the calves. I would help Mark run the calves through the chute. There were shots to give and old fly tags to take off the ears. Lots of times Kate would do the evening pig chores, before spending the evening studying or taking a bike ride around the section. So autumn turned to winter. The days were getting shorter.
It was mid January. Bret and Adam had just went back to college after the winter break. It was so cold.
"Just looked at the thermometer. Looks like it's zero tonight. Sure glad the calves aren't coming in this stuff. The windchill must be negative 10 out there. I think I'll go down and stock the furnace with wood and go to bed. Are you coming?" Mark said heading down the stairs.
"Oh in a minute. I want to go down and talk with Kate for a bit."
I really enjoyed getting to catch up with Kate sometimes. She was always full of interesting ideas and news. I didn't want to bother her long though, as she still had lots of homework. Skitz was curled up on the bed beside her. After about 15 minutes, I gave her a kiss on the head and told her good night and headed up the stairs.
Mommmmm.....
I shot up cold in the dark room! My heart was hammering against my chest! My breath came in short gasps. What time was it? Mark's alarm clock was the only light in the black room. 2:14. What in the world did I hear? Sounded like mom. Maybe Kate hollered?
I slowly got out of bed and walked to the basement stairs. It was all dark down there. Turning on the light, I crept down the stairs and back to her room. All was quiet. Kate was sleeping like a baby.
Back in our bedroom, I just sat there in the dark. What was that? A dream?
"Mark!" I shook him, "Mark, wake up! Mark...," no answer. "Mark!" Still no answer. I just laid there in the dark. I could not sleep. Not one little wink. Then my mind went to Bret. Was he ok? He wasn't! I just had this funny feeling! I need to call him, but good grief it was 2 in the morning. I just laid there in the dark. What could I do? I just know something is wrong.
"Mark!" I said louder. "Mark! Wake up!" I hollered.
"What do you need?"
"Do you think Bret is ok? Or do you think we need to call him?"
"What time is it anyway?"
"After 2 in the morning."
"No, we are not going to call him. He is sleeping I'm sure. Now go back to sleep," Mark said rolling over and starting to snore again.
I just couldn't. I laid there listening to the wind beat at the house from the north. Every once in awhile a tree limb would scratch against the roof. I started to cry. I WISH I could just call him.
"Mark," I whispered again. "Are you sure Bret is okay?"
"Yes, now please go to sleep."
I snuggled up to his back and tried to get to sleep. Sometime in the early morning, I must have dozed off because when I woke, Mark was in the kitchen starting breakfast.
"I'm going to call Bret," I announced coming out rubbing my eyes. "What time is it?"
"Close to 8."
"I'm going to call." I said walking to the phone and dialing his number.
I prayed he would answer. We couldn't go anywhere. RING...RING...I counted to myself. One, two, three, four,...no answer. My heart started to hammer. Oh no....answer Bret! PLEASE!
"Hello," a sleepy Bret said in the phone.
"Are you okay, Bret? This is mom."
"We are now."
"What do you mean .... now?"
"Oh, some dumb kids threw some paper down the laundry shoot after starting it on fire and smoked up the whole floor. They made us leave for awhile. Adam and I went to the car but it was so cold we drove around for about an hour or more with the heater on. They just let us back in about an hour ago."
"What time did this all start?" I asked breathless.
"Around 2 something."
I just stood there, frozen in place. I couldn't say a word. That is when I was awakened with that awful Mommmmmm..... Somehow my heart just knew. Somehow my heart was telling me that all was not well with our Bret.
"Well, I'm just glad that it turned out fine. Can you get some sleep now?" was all I could answer.
"Yeah, about a half hour before class."
"Good bye honey," I said. I just stood there holding the phone for a long time.
My heart did live in two places. Two places that were two hours apart.
"Would you come down the slide with us Mrs. Bek? Please!" little Sarah asked, pulling on my arm.
"Lets go," I said running off with her close behind.
Up we climbed until we got to the top. It was one of those that turned around in a circle. The kids loved it.
"Mrs. Bek is going down the slide with us!" a bunch of little excited voices hollered.
"Okay, who is going first?" I asked looking around me as we stood up there.
"I will," Hannah said, pushing a little boy aside.
"Oh, don't push, Hannah. We don't want to all fall down those steps do we?"
"I want to go down beside Mrs. Bek!" someone hollered.
"I'll tell you what, I'll go down with each of you once if we have time. How's that? Hannah, do you want to be first?"
"Yes!" So down we went. Hannah sitting right in front of me. I loved each one of these little kids so much! It made me feel so happy to be able to have fun with them! Little kids were laughing, and we would get to the bottom and then race to the ladder again and back up to the top.
"I'm next! No, I'm next! Mrs. Bek, I'm next right?" What a fun time we were having, there under that big blue sky! Little kids are so special. Love and joy were written all over their little faces.
R I N G! "Whoops, there goes the bell. Have to go in and get busy! Race you to the door. But remember, we have to stand quiet in line," I said taking off at high speed, little feet running ahead of me.
"Okay, now we need to use our inside voices," the teacher said to us as we stood there in line trying to slow down our breathing. So it went, there under the October skies. Back into the class room we went all in a line. There was a bit of pushing and a whisper, "Stop it, Brian!" once in a while, but generally speaking, they marched behind the teacher as perfect little angels.
One evening in late October, we had a knock on our door. Kate was downstairs doing some homework, and Mark was reading the paper. I dried my hands on the dish towel and went to answer.
There stood Don and Eula, smiles on their little wrinkled faces, and in Don's crippled arms was the cutest little fuzzy black and brown striped kitten, all wrapped in blankets.
"Hi," said Eula with her little chuckle. "We found this little kitten in the road ditch and thought of Kate. Would she like it? It would make a nice house cat!"
"Oh, isn't it cute!" I said petting it. "Is it a male or female?"
"Male, I'm pretty sure. It needs a home, and we have way to many ourselves."
"Kate! Come up here for a minute," Mark hollered down the basement stairs and came to the kitchen to see this cute little thing.
"Oh mom, can I have it P L E A S E! I've always wanted a cat in the house! It's just so cute. Please dad! Can I?" Kate asked, taking the blanket from Don and holding it close.
Kate had always been so fond of her many barn cats through the years, and we knew she had asked us many times to be able to bring one of them inside. But, being from "old-fashioned" farm backgrounds, we always had thought of animals as being outside. But, after some thought, we decided that one cat inside would be okay. "Well, I guess you can if you promise to be the one who is responsible for its care."
"It will have to stay in the utility room while we are at school. I don't want it running the house. At least until it is house trained," I said, smiling up at Don. "How about a cup of something hot before you leave?"
"We really need to get home. We have cats to feed too, you know," Don said with a chuckle.
"Okay, but maybe next time," we said walking them to their car.
"Oh Mark, aren't they just darling in that little Plymouth hatchback! I just love them," I said waving to them as they backed out of the drive way and turned east.
So a famous cat named Skitz came to live with us. He was not an outside cat! He was Kate's constant companion. There was "litter box training" to learn. So a litter pan, a food dish, and water dish now sat in our utility room. Skitz pretty much had the run of the house.
RING..RING... What was that? A dream? What time is it anyway? RING...RING...Oh good grief, that's the phone! I jumped up out of bed, glancing at the bedside clock. It was midnight. Who could be calling at this time of night anyway. I groped in the dark, making my way out to the kitchen. I kicked my toe against a chair leg. Ouch... that hurt. RING....RING... just wait, I'm coming!
"Hello," I say into the receiver all groggy and out of breath.
"Hi Mom! What are you doing?" our wonderful college son says at the other end, fully awake.
"Are you okay?" I asked taking hold of the counter for support, my heart beating a mile a minute. After all, it was midnight.
"Yeah, we are good. Just thought we would give you a call. Adam and I are just in from the rec. What are you doing?"
"Well, it is midnight here at our house. We usually sleep around that time here on the good old farm," I said so happy to hear his voice.
"Is Kate sleeping?"
"I'm sure she is. It's dark down there. She got a house cat from Don and Eula this afternoon. Named it Skitz."
"Oh that's cute. Well, tell her and Dad hi in the morning. Just wanted to call home."
"I always love to hear your voice, but I'm glad it wasn't bad news. I'll tell them hi in the morning."
"Bye mom...sleep well...see you in a couple days."
"Love you and you get some sleep too. Bye now," I just held that receiver to my chest for a minute before slowly hanging it up. Thank goodness for telephones, so that I can hear his voice from so far away and know all is well with my boy! Slowly I made my way back through the dark, crawled in beside a snoring husband and laid there for awhile, staring into the dark room, wondering what Bret was doing in his little world.
Mark busied himself in planting wheat and cutting the little bit of milo we had planted. On weekends Kate and I were able to help bring the cows in and wean off the calves. I would help Mark run the calves through the chute. There were shots to give and old fly tags to take off the ears. Lots of times Kate would do the evening pig chores, before spending the evening studying or taking a bike ride around the section. So autumn turned to winter. The days were getting shorter.
It was mid January. Bret and Adam had just went back to college after the winter break. It was so cold.
"Just looked at the thermometer. Looks like it's zero tonight. Sure glad the calves aren't coming in this stuff. The windchill must be negative 10 out there. I think I'll go down and stock the furnace with wood and go to bed. Are you coming?" Mark said heading down the stairs.
"Oh in a minute. I want to go down and talk with Kate for a bit."
I really enjoyed getting to catch up with Kate sometimes. She was always full of interesting ideas and news. I didn't want to bother her long though, as she still had lots of homework. Skitz was curled up on the bed beside her. After about 15 minutes, I gave her a kiss on the head and told her good night and headed up the stairs.
Mommmmm.....
I shot up cold in the dark room! My heart was hammering against my chest! My breath came in short gasps. What time was it? Mark's alarm clock was the only light in the black room. 2:14. What in the world did I hear? Sounded like mom. Maybe Kate hollered?
I slowly got out of bed and walked to the basement stairs. It was all dark down there. Turning on the light, I crept down the stairs and back to her room. All was quiet. Kate was sleeping like a baby.
Back in our bedroom, I just sat there in the dark. What was that? A dream?
"Mark!" I shook him, "Mark, wake up! Mark...," no answer. "Mark!" Still no answer. I just laid there in the dark. I could not sleep. Not one little wink. Then my mind went to Bret. Was he ok? He wasn't! I just had this funny feeling! I need to call him, but good grief it was 2 in the morning. I just laid there in the dark. What could I do? I just know something is wrong.
"Mark!" I said louder. "Mark! Wake up!" I hollered.
"What do you need?"
"Do you think Bret is ok? Or do you think we need to call him?"
"What time is it anyway?"
"After 2 in the morning."
"No, we are not going to call him. He is sleeping I'm sure. Now go back to sleep," Mark said rolling over and starting to snore again.
I just couldn't. I laid there listening to the wind beat at the house from the north. Every once in awhile a tree limb would scratch against the roof. I started to cry. I WISH I could just call him.
"Mark," I whispered again. "Are you sure Bret is okay?"
"Yes, now please go to sleep."
I snuggled up to his back and tried to get to sleep. Sometime in the early morning, I must have dozed off because when I woke, Mark was in the kitchen starting breakfast.
"I'm going to call Bret," I announced coming out rubbing my eyes. "What time is it?"
"Close to 8."
"I'm going to call." I said walking to the phone and dialing his number.
I prayed he would answer. We couldn't go anywhere. RING...RING...I counted to myself. One, two, three, four,...no answer. My heart started to hammer. Oh no....answer Bret! PLEASE!
"Hello," a sleepy Bret said in the phone.
"Are you okay, Bret? This is mom."
"We are now."
"What do you mean .... now?"
"Oh, some dumb kids threw some paper down the laundry shoot after starting it on fire and smoked up the whole floor. They made us leave for awhile. Adam and I went to the car but it was so cold we drove around for about an hour or more with the heater on. They just let us back in about an hour ago."
"What time did this all start?" I asked breathless.
"Around 2 something."
I just stood there, frozen in place. I couldn't say a word. That is when I was awakened with that awful Mommmmmm..... Somehow my heart just knew. Somehow my heart was telling me that all was not well with our Bret.
"Well, I'm just glad that it turned out fine. Can you get some sleep now?" was all I could answer.
"Yeah, about a half hour before class."
"Good bye honey," I said. I just stood there holding the phone for a long time.
My heart did live in two places. Two places that were two hours apart.
<3 Mothers intuition its real, I have had it too. <3
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