Mommy I’m sorry. I want to go to bed. I’m tired. Mommy, I’m sorry. I just want to take care of you.
I woke up a few minutes ago to my neighbor screaming at her teenage son to leave her alone. The boy is excuse my not political correctness-but handicapped. Fetal alcohol.
He had been hitting her because he didn’t want to do what she asked.
My other neighbor across the street came and told him to leave off.
The police were called.
It was so heartbreaking to hear the boy crying that he didn’t want to leave his mom, that he wanted to be with her to take care of her. That he was tired and he wanted to sleep.
However when the neighbor told him he had to be nicer and apologize, the boy got mad and told to him fuck off.
“It’s time to man up! You’re a man now! A man doesn’t hit his mom!” The neighbor snapped.
The poor woman was so distraught. She didn’t know what to do. Her child is bigger and stronger than she. Temper tantrums are normal for a child, but not for someone who doesn’t know their own strength and doesn’t the process their emotions and thoughts for their age.
The neighbor’s bonfire brings back memories of campfires and wiener roasts.
As children we are so eager to grow up we don’t savour the moments (if this post is triggering I’m sorry)
Running through the country side, picking and eating wild strawberries. Watching grandma make her buns and jams. Playing in the attic. Sleeping under quilts that smelled like the sun.
Riding through the neighbourhood on our bikes. Coming back caked in mud from head to toe. California kick ball, kick the bucket, dodge ball, and fireflies in the dark.
She was commenting how she just moved into town from LaCrete. My head whipped around so fast I almost gave myself whiplash!
“You’re Mennonite?” I asked.
She shook her head “my parents are I’m not.”
“Really, me too!” I began to grin “your parents didn’t send you to Prespatou?”
“No they sent me to my grandparents!” She huffed.
Another one of my teammates- Haley exclaimed “no! Not your grandparents!”
“Are you Mennonite?” The new girl asked.
Haley scoffed “no, my parents are!”
“What did you do to get sent to your grandparents?” I asked.
The girl rolled her eyes. “My mom caught me watching Vampire Diaries!”
“No!” I was scandalized. “Not Vampire diaries!”
I couldn’t help it I was laughing. “How are you still living!”
“That’s not the worst part! She saw the Maleficent poster in my room! The horns!”
Haley and I were enjoying ourselves reminiscing about how our backgrounds were similar to the new girl’s.
“So they sent you to the grandparents”
“They look through my phones and laptop. My grandpa had a meltdown when he saw what was on my phone!” She went on.
“My mom had a stroke when I said Damn” I said.
“My mom wouldn’t let me wear tank tops or leggings. Only frilly dresses” Haley shook her head.
“My parents wanted me to marry a guy from LaCrete!” I shuddered.
“Oh wow. Sorry about that. I have a second laptop that I carry around” the new girl sighed.
It was nice talking to another Mennonite girl. Many of my friends have either married or went back home to the colony.
I think every Mennonite child was threatened with “if you don’t behave you will go to your grandparents!”
No tv. No music. Early rising. Just working on the farm.
I didn’t mind. I loved baking and reading. Playing in the fields.
Mennonites are different levels of conservative. Some don’t mind the modernization creeping into their colony some are so against it they ostracized those who don’t follow their way.
I often observe how different LaCrete and Prespatou are. If one was to make the comparison…LaCrete consider themselves high society and Prespatou the dregs.
LaCrete is a pretty successful town compared to Prespatou. Men don’t want to marry women from Prespatou and women from Prespatou consider marrying into a LaCrete family? They hit the big time!- just my observation from friends of friends.
For weeks the smell of coffee would awaken a long buried memory. A memory I just couldn’t seem to remember. No matter what I did, or much I tried I just couldn’t make it clearer.
All the details were fuzzy. I just didn’t know what or who I was to remember!
Coffee. Summer.
Then a few minutes ago while watching an obscure clip from General Hospital something happened. I don’t know how to explain it.
It was my grandmother!
I burst into tears. I started crying. She had been trying to communicate with me.
All this time.
I hope it’s not a long reach. 💕💕
I still don’t know what I am to remember but hopefully I am right.
My niece is on a nice steady recovery. She remarked yesterday how she missed making me lunch and snuggling with me when I was sick.
I almost cried. I told her with heart felt sincerity, that those days were the best days of my life! That waking up to find her in the kitchen cooking and singing was the best medicine!
We would watch mukbangs while we ate and watch YouTube in bed while we snuggled!
“You don’t know how much I appreciated that you helped me” I tried not to cry telling her that.
Kai was getting her appetite back so she made us some Kraft dinner.
We really had a lovely afternoon.
“How come you never cook dinner?” My dad asked when he called to see how Kai made out giving Fritz a bath. (Fritz the cat was chilling)
“Me? Cook dinner?” I was incredulous. “Never! Why? when I have Mel and Kai!”
Mel is a wonderful cook! 🥰🥰 so I don’t know what happened to me that I don’t know how to cook 😂😂 or is it because I am lazy.
Today I am making my favourite lunch. Brussel sprouts in butter. Mini bell peppers and Maybe noodles.
I was looking over some calcite today after work. Orange, red, yellow, green and honey. “Maybe we should get some honey calcite for your mother” I remarked to K. “It will enhance her intellect”
We burst out laughing. Mel glared at us. “What do you mean? Are you saying I am stupid?” She asked.
We left the Crystal shop, and while sitting in the air conditioned car Mel was reading some messages on her phone. “Oh I have to are-chive these” she mused.
I frowned. What was she talking about? “Are-chive?”
She rolled her eyes at me. “Yeah are-chive!”
It took me a moment to realize she meant “archive”
“No, it’s are-chive”
Then k piped up from the backseat “it’s archive, mom!”
I burst out laughing.
We went to my parents house for dinner. We relaxed afterwards in the living room. singing and making some TikTok videos, while my parents tried not to lose their patience.
“K are you working on your times tables?” My mom asked. “Mel are you helping her”
I broke into Ann Lee’s song “two times”
My sister joined in.
“There! We helped!”
My dad, who had been napping on the sofa, began to smile. Which made my mom angrier.
“I think we better go” my sister suggested.
“Two times” I sung.
While I was trying to put on my shoes, my sister opened the door. Squishing me against the wall.
She was wondering why the door wouldn’t open further so she kept pressing against it, pushing the door into me, into the wall.
“Melissa!” I cried.
She stopped. Took a step forward and peeked around the door “come on!” She was confused.
I could barely stand, I was laughing so hard.
She then closed the screen door on me, which I almost fell right through because I tripped. I was plastered against the mesh,when my mom stormed into the foyer.
“Becky! Will you be quiet your dad is sleeping!” Then she saw me. Saw the door. I thought she would have a stroke. “Becky! My door!”
I tried to speak. Tried to move. But I was helpless.
“Mom. I can’t move, help”
My mom started berating me in German as she tried to untangle me from the mesh. “Will you be quiet! The neighbors!” She cried.
“I can’t open the door!”
My mom opened the door “no, don’t step on the threshold you will break it!” She cried. But I stepped over the partition. I hurried to the car, where K and Mel were laughing hysterically at me.
“Auntie, did you if you go around town with your titties hanging out you’re insulting the town” my niece blurted out.
Well, that took the cake. I lost it. I was laughing hysterically.
My afternoon went well, I must say. After the morning’s debacle.
I finally chilled out.
I think I may be a scary person because of my mercurial moods. One moment I am calm the next I am raging psycho. Perhaps the Joker is the best way to describe me. Insane in the membrane!
My sister invited me over for dinner. Spring rolls and dry ribs. We were supposed to see the Conjuring 3 but the early show sold so I told her to go to the late show without me.
I thanked her for the dinner, and for making the rest of my day better.
A GIRL OUT OF THE ORDINARY 