When the Good Lord was creating Mothers he was into his
sixth day of overtime when the Angel appeared and
said,
"You're doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."
And the Lord said,
"Have you read the specs 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 pair of hands, no way!"
"It's not the hands that are causing me problems," said
the Lord,
"It's the three pairs of eyes that Mothers have to
have."
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
see what she shouldn't, but what she has to know, and of
course the ones here in the front that can look at a child
when he goofs 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 can't," said the Lord, "I am 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
on one pound of hamburger, and can get a nine year old to
stand in the shower."
The Angel circled the model of a Mother very slowly, "It's
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 think, but it can reason and compromise," said
the Creator.
Finally, the Angel bent over and ran her finger across the
cheek. "There's a leak," she announced, "I told you you
were trying to put too much into this model."
"It's not a leak," said the Lord, "It's a tear."
"What is it for?"
"It's for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness
and pride."
