by Marsupial

Created on: October 29, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

When we were little, my sisters and I spent a lot of time at Betty's. She was a friend of my parents' from church and everyone who had children in her care simply referred to her place as "Betty's House." I remember being among the first to arrive and last to be picked up, often long after dark. I remember my mom carefully putting a plastic bonnet over her Aquanet-stiffened hairdo on rainy days before getting us out of the car to run up to the door. I remember the circular glass entryway wall that resembled countless coke bottle bottoms in a golden maple hue. I remember eating sugar-cinnamon toast for breakfast while studying Betty's red-checkered vinyl tablecloth at chin level, and watching her hand wipe it clean in front of me. I remember the braided rug I used to walk on in circles. I remember learning to tie my shoes on that rug. I remember the boy who got his mouth washed out with soap for saying a bad word (those who didn't hear it were not told what it was, so I stood in awe next to a handful of other children crowding around the bathroom doorway as she taught him that important lesson). I remember learning to dress and undress myself in that bathroom. I remember the teenaged daughter who practice Fur Elise nearly every afternoon on the piano, which subsequently ruined that melody for me! I remember riding a tricycle around her fish pond out back for hours. I remember writing the word "orange" really big next to that pond with an orange piece of sidewalk chalk. I remember keeping my distance from the canoe that was set upside down near the fence because I was sure there was a family of large spiders living underneath it. I remember the plum tree at the end of her yard and having to step over the egg-shells that she'd strewn about the lawn in order to get to it. I remember playing hide and seek a few times. I remember enjoying the mud when she would run the hose for us in the dirt. I remember watching her hang her laundry up when she didn't wish to use her clothes dryer. I remember lining up at the back door to be wiped clean before entering her house again. I remember the bucket of soapy water and the rag she would use on all of us... never dawning on me that I might not wish to be last in line for this! I remember doing exercises with Betty while singing "I'm a Little Teapot," "Bend and Stretch" and "Climb, Climb Up Sunshine Mountain." And I remember her voice, deep and loving, as she read to us from the Bible.

Betty made a CD recently to pass on to all her "kids". She visited my parents' church last Sunday and gave a CD to my Dad inside of a card for Cody and Nicholas. The first time I listened to it was on Monday evening, on my way to work, alone. I wanted to listen to each song and story before playing it for the boys just in case I was caught with a lump in my throat. And I did cry. There are songs that I already sing with my boys that I picked up from her, and songs that I haven't heard in almost 30 years but remember so clearly. Listening to her on the CD telling Bible stories and teaching us to pray, I grew so much more grateful for the time I'd spent there. Some would say I spent far too much time away from my own mother. It is clear to me, though, that Betty contributed the most to my accepting Christ at such a young age. And now, I think about the lady my boys spend time with. She is similar to Betty in so many ways: patient and loving. I choose to work fewer hours than my mother did by far as I am realizing what an important role a mommy really is. At the same time, I am confident that my boys are exactly where they are supposed to be while I am away for a short time. I need to write Betty and thank her again.

Learn more about this author, Marsupial.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.