by D.A. Marshall

Created on: August 17, 2009

When my daughter was little, the question, "What do you want for Mother's Day" would be asked sometime in late April. My usual response was, "I'd like to sleep late and do nothing all day!" So, for several years, or until my daughter went away to school, I was allowed to be Queen For The Day while my she and her daddy "quietly" prepared my special request.

Sometime around 8:00am, the other side of the bed would move, indicating that my better half was trying to sneak out of our bedroom. The door would quietly close and I would hear the pad of feet belonging to more than one person fading as they went down the hallway. A procession of various noises would begin, intermingled with the laughter of my daughter and her kitchen-illiterate father.

After a series of banging, clanging, slamming, whirring, whisking, and a few "uh ohs" here and there, the signal that breakfast was almost ready would come - the shrieking smoke alarm. Inevitably, the butter would be placed in a very hot pan that had been set on the burner and forgotten. Before the scrambled egg mix could be poured into the pan, smoke would drift upward to the smoke alarm, setting off a series of events - blinding butter smoke, whirring vent fan, more bangs and clangs, and a quivering, whimpering doggie scratching our bedroom door to be let in to hide under the bed covers. While one "chef" would frantically wave a towel underneath the smoke alarm, the other would continue cooking eggs in the blackened butter. I would hear the toast pop up, the fridge door slam a few times, and some more giggles.

Then the sound of footsteps would return in the hallway, announcing the Coming Of Breakfast. Of course, I would pretend to be asleep, which would add to the delight of the breakfast makers. "Happy Mother's Day!" would be their greeting as I opened my eyes and faked a yawn.

In spite of the brown eggs, stone-hard toast, and lukewarm juice, these breakfasts were, and continue to be, the best Mother's Day memories for this mom (even though I had to help clean up!). You see, I have never been the sort of mom who wants fancy or expensive gifts for any occasion. And my family knows that the perfect gift for me consists only of themselves and their simple efforts to make me feel special.

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