9 Minutes



2:18 PM

     "What are you doing?"
     "What was that noise?
     "Mom, look at me. My hat's on backwards."
     "I thought that noise was a scurry. Is it gonna scurry, today?"

     "I got both my hats."
     "Mom, look it."
     "I got two hats for me. Look, Mom."
     Joey runs to the other room and becomes transfixed by the Disney channel.
          . 

2:22 PM

     I should do something worthwhile today. 
     Clean the house, again. Visit my mother. 
     I haven't seen her for weeks.
     That hosta plant needs to be moved. I've been meaning to get to it all summer.

2:23 PM

     Hmmmmmm. The humming of my bedroom fan.
     The lights are down.
     He's transfixed in the land of animation.
     This seems just as worth the while after the week I have had.

2:24 PM

     I've ignored my fingernails again.
     I am a woman, aging into her 40's.
     The 20's and 30's had their way with my body. 
     Least I could do, to feel pretty, is paint my nails regularly.

2:26 PM

     When did I lose that energy to run outdoors all day?
     Climb the branches of the apple trees,
     Embrace an entire day of swimming in Grandpa's pool,
     Outrun mosquitoes with hours of flashlight tag after dark?

2:27  PM

     I need a nap.

---Heather Johann Hawes