R-i-i-i-n-g-g-g!
Masha's hand reached out from underneath the warm blanket and
banged down on the snooze button. "Five more minutes," she
promised herself.
The distant rumble of noises and voices intruded into her
cozy slumber. Amid the haze of her fuzzy, morning rain, a
distinct noise kept bouncing through her head.
She sprang upright. Her body screamed and ached at the sudden
movement. But, oh, no! It must be Chaim playing ball in the
kitchen. And oh, why had she left the cleaned silver parked
on the fleishig counter, as if she was a newly married
woman?
Masha washed and dressed to a count of ten. She dashed into
the well-lit kitchen just in time -- CRASH -- to see the ball
knock down the Shabbos candlesticks.
"Chaim!" she yelled. "How many times..." Chaim
disappeared.
"Good morning, children." Masha desperately tried to find
some cheer within her tired self. Chaya was just popping a
toast out of the toaster and whisked it off from her bare
palm unto the empty table.
"Chaya," Masha warned, "do be careful. You're dropping crumbs
all over the floor and it's five days until Pesach."
Chaya nodded and went to get the broom to sweep up. Heshy
stood by the milchig counter, an open book and a bowl
of oat squares and milk beside it.
"Heshy, do you realize that I already cleaned that book for
Pesach? Your cereal is dripping on every page. Can you please
close the book NOW?"
Heshy obliged and continued eating in silence.
Masha was ready to reprimand Huvi for sitting on the couch
while munching on a bag of chocolate chip cookies, but she
stopped short when she caught sight of two-year-old Nachi
rummaging through the Pesach cutlery drawer with his crumbly
fingers.
She grabbed him and lost her temper.
"Kids, it's not ten minutes since I woke up. I do not want to
see you with crumbs anywhere else but on the table. If I
do..." Masha shook her finger.
The kids eyed their mother's unusual behavior but said
nothing. The day continued. It felt as though with her every
turn, Masha found something to yell about. The Formica shelf
Chaya offered to clean was not as white and shiny at the end
of the task as her mother liked. Huvi and Heshy annoyed her
with their, "Ma, what can I do to help?"
"Just leave the kitchen," she snapped. Her nerves felt like
they were stretched to their max. It made her feel tired and
achy and stressed out. With all the kids under her feet, this
pre-Pesach tornado felt as though the eye of the storm was
going through every limb of her body and finally settling in
her head.
Masha remembered Pesach cleaning when she was a dazed, young
bride. It was such fun to clean the empty closets and wash
the clean walls. When her first baby came along, she managed
fine, too. But now, with them all -- Good Heavens! It was
impossible!
The day finally passed. She put her kids to sleep and made
sure to clear the counter of all fragile stuff. Masha crawled
into bed and prepared for another day of nerve-wracking,
screaming, stressful kids all-over kind-of morning.
Dawn broke and Masha's alarm clock went off. She reached out
and pressed the snooze button. "Five more minutes," she
promised herself.
Masha slept a deep, five minute sleep. The alarm went off a
second time.
Masha turned onto her back and breathed deeply. Strange. Not
a sound came from the kitchen. She strained her ears, but all
she could hear was the chirping of the birds outside her
bedroom window. She sat up and looked around. Everything
looked the same as yesterday. How come it was so quiet?
Masha jumped out of bed and was in the kitchen before she had
a chance to run through the names of the kids. The kitchen
was dark. No toast, no cereals, no cookies, no crumbs, no
balls -- no kids.
Nervously, she ran to the kids' rooms.
The beds were neatly made, but not a peep from anywhere or
anyone. Frantically, she rushed into the den; nobody there,
either. Where were the kids? It was too early to call
anybody. She peered outside. The world hardly stirred. "My
children! Where are my children?" her heart cried.
Masha ran around the house like a possessed woman. She
couldn't think. She couldn't think. Where could they be?
On her fifth round through the entire house, she chanced upon
a little yellow note stuck under a magnet on the freezer
door.
Dear Mommy,
Good Morning! We wanted to let you work without us being in
the way. We're spending the day at Bubby's house. Don't
worry; we'll help her get ready for Pesach. We hope you
accomplish a lot today.
Love, your kids
Masha sat down on a kitchen chair. Phew! She
sighed. At least they're safe. She ate a quick
breakfast and got to work.
She cleaned and lined the fridge, scrubbed the counters and
brought out all the Pesach boxes. She worked in a quiet
house. Not one foot beside her own did she come across. Not
one voice did she hear. Not once did she yell.
Ahhh, peace and quiet -- finally! she thought. As
Masha continued her many tasks, she relished the sweet, calm
silence. She wondered why she hadn't thought of this
arrangement sooner.
Every so often, though, she would stop working and think
about the grand mess her children must be making in her
mother-in-law's spotless house. Poor Bubby, she must be at
her wits end trying to control her dear, wild
grandchildren.
At six o'clock, Masha forced herself to phone Bubby Frankel's
house. She braced herself for a yelling that would surely
last an hour or so.
"Oh, Masha, it's you. You are such a doll, my dear. You
spared the kids for a whole day and sent them to help me. How
considerate of you. They are being such a wonderful help. I
haven't lifted a finger a whole day!"
"Really?" Masha asked, trying to leave the shock out of her
voice. Her kids? A help? Puleeze...
"Sure," Bubby Frankel continued. "Chaya is baking her fourth
chocolate cake. Heshy and Huvi peeled all the carrots, beets
and pototoes. Even little Chaim helped me peel some
cucumbers. I hope you don't want them home yet. They're
livening up this place. I haven't had so much fun in a very
long time."
Masha put down the receiver. These were her kids,
weren't they? Had she underestimated them? Masha contnued to
work but she had a lot to think about.
When her tired but happy children walked through the door at
eight o' clock and hugged Masha, she had to swallow a lump as
large as a grapefruit that was threatening to make her
cry.
"So, Mommy, did you get to finish all your work today?" Chaya
asked with a grownup smile, way too old for her eleven
years.
"Sure did, but I missed you all."
Chaya lifted an eyebrow but accepted the compliment.
"That was a good idea to help Bubby. Did you think of it
yourself?"
Chaya nodded.
"My big girl," Masha said with pleasure. She hugged Heshy and
Huvi. "You guys helped Bubby a lot, didn't you?"
They both nodded with a grin.
"Tomorrow you'll help me peel all those veggies, too?"
"Yeah!" they said together.
"And what about you, Chaim? You'll help me peel the
cucumbers, won't you?"
Chaim nodded sleepily. Nachi was already asleep. The rest of
the troop followed Masha into their respective bedrooms.
The next morning, Masha woke up with the sun. She gleefully
jumped out of bed. She couldn't wait to start the day. There
was so much work to do, but with the kids around, the work
should get done in no time at all.
Thanks for the insight, Bubby Frankel, she thought.
Thank you for making me realize how precious and fun and
helpful my kids can be.
