When the Good Lord was creating Mothers,
He was into the sixth day of
overtime when the angel appeared
and said, "You are doing a lot of
fiddling around with this one.
And the Lord said, "Have you read the spec
on this order?
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."
"Thats
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 shouldnt 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, "Come to bed.
Tomorrow... "
"I cant," said the Lord, "I'm so close to creating something
so close to myself. Already I have one who heals herself when she is
sick... can feed a family of six with one pound of hamburger... and
can get a nine year old to stand under a shower."
The angel circled the
model of a Mother very slowly.
"Its too soft," she sighed.
"But tough!" said
the Lord excitedly.
"You cannot imagine what this Mother can do or
endure."
"Can it think?"
" Not only can it think, but it can reason and
compromise," said the Creator.
Finally, the angel bent over and ran a
finger across the cheek.
"There is a leak," she pronounced. "I told you,
you
were trying to put too much into this model. "
"Its not a leak," said the
Lord "its a tear."
" Whats it for?"
" It's for joy, sadness, disappointment,
pain, loneliness and pride."
"You are a genius," said the angel.
The Lord looked somber. " I didn't put it there."
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