Friday, May 25, 2012

The Sound of Mother's Day

What is the sound of Mother's Day?

I guess the sound depends on the particualar season of motherhood.  Once upon a time, it may be the clattering sounds eminating from the kitchen as small hands helped prepare the traditional breakfast-in-bed.  That tradition was short-lived, as in the coming years Mom was soon up and out of bed before the kidos.

Now, this being the season when the kids are away at college, Mother's Day was going to be the sound of silence.  But wait -- with the fortuitous alignment of the academic calendar, newly acquired transportation and a housing crunch, Grant announced he would be done with freshman year finals and headed home for a few days, begining May 10.

What is the Sound of Mother's Day?
It is the constant hum from the laundry closet, as mountains of dirty college laundry are cycled through the washing machine and the dryer.  No need for a fist full of quarters or a magnetic washing maching debit card.  No siree, Mom's laundry is free.  Lock and load, step away and go about your business as Mother's Day Weekend is filled with a soporific background noise of sloshing, cycling and tumbling shirts, shorts and grunties.

Grant, with two buddies from his dorm floor, canvassed the univeristy environs and found a place for the three of them to stay next year.  They signed the lease for a furnished 3-BR apartment and will be allowed to move in August 15, just a week before the Fall term of their sophomore year.  In the mean time, he and Carson (one of the 2 future apartmentmate from Chicago) had plans to stay in Columbia over the summer to find work, a requirement if they are to be given Missouri residency and then benefit from in-state tuition.  Carson landed a job at Wal*Mart in the gardening department.  Grant was going to return and continue his job search after Mother's Day.

Grant and Carson of course needed a place to land between the time when their dorm closed mid-May and when their new apartment lease would allow them to move in in mid-August.  Grant and Carson found a house across the street from campus, that several young ladies were looking to sublease for the summer.  It was a good find, but the girls would not be ready to move out quite as soon as the boys were ready to move in.  I didn't say it, but this circumstance is a good life lesson anaology for a young man.

So, for the in-between time, Grant was coming home for about a week. 

Slosh, slosh, slosh, rinse, spin, tumble, bump, thud, tumble.  Repeat.  The sound of this season's Mother's Day.

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