She was particularly tired that day. After serving a hot
lunch to all the children, she asked her girl of twelve to
look after the year-old twins, and begged the others to try
to play quietly for half an hour, so that she could sleep.
She must have fallen into a deep sleep immediately; then
something woke her. Silence, there was not a sound in the
house. Jumping out of bed, she looked into each room. There
were toys and books strewn around as usual, but the cribs
were empty, and there was not a child in sight. Then she saw
it, the note propped up on the kitchen table. 'To our darling
Mommy, We saw that you were so tired, so we went out for a
while. DON'T WORRY, we'll be back in time for supper Love
from all of us."
As soon as a mother hears the words 'Don't worry,' or `Don't
be cross' etc, from a child, she automatically begins to
worry or to feel angry. It's a reflex action. Where could
they have gone? How could she have slept so soundly that she
hadn't heard eight children leaving the house?
She plugged in the telephone which she had disconnected when
the children came home for lunch, and it rang immediately. It
was her husband. "I thought you were asleep." As always, she
laughed and said, "Why did you phone if you thought I was
asleep?" He laughed, too, and replied, "I know you would
never sleep by day."
"Where are you?" "I popped in to my brother Yanky, and all
the kids are here, having the time of their lives." Does
Gitty mind?" "Not at all. She says the cousins rarely get
together, and she is keeping them till supper time. Goodbye,
see you later."
Estie replaced the receiver thoughtfully. For over twelve
years, she had never had the luxury of a lengthy refreshing
afternoon sleep. She unplugged the telephone and went back to
bed. But she was wide awake: why waste her precious free time
just lying in bed? First, she tidied the house. Without any
little helpers, everything was in its place, the pile of
laundry was folded and put away, and the floors were swept,
in no time at all. The place looked almost like Shabbos.
While she was making herself a cup of coffee, she wondered
how she could use her precious free time. Years ago, she used
to read anything she could find: Fine, she would read a book.
After one page, though, she had had enough. The silence and
the lack of disturbance irked her. She decided to phone her
sister-in-law.
"Estie, how are you? Did you manage to have a rest?" "Oh
yes: are you sure the children are not too much trouble? "Of
course they aren't. We are having a great time together," she
answered cheerfully. It was on the tip of Estie's tongue to
say she was coming over to fetch them, but she restrained
herself. She would prepare a nice supper for everyone
instead. She put on a tape, but it was not the same without
the children. She decided to phone a friend, not a sensible
thing to do in the middle of the afternoon.
"Estie, what a surprise! How can I help you?" "I just wanted
to ask you how you were." The friend was clearly puzzled.
"Has something happened?" "I'll phone you later," she said
hurriedly, and hung up.
She suddenly realized that she was not enjoying her
unexpected holiday one little bit. She needed her children
around her. She needed the noise, the shouting and
squabbling. She wanted to be needed. They came home in high
spirits, after seven. Their father had picked them up on his
way from Kollel.
"How was it?" she asked. The chorus was unanimous . . .
wonderful. Only the two babies struggled to get onto her
knees and hug her. Estie felt she never wanted another
holiday. Then her caring husband asked as he looked round the
suspiciously tidy house, and the carefully set table, "Did
you manage to get a rest?"
"Yes of course", she replied quickly. "I rested, I read a
book, I phoned a friend, I . . ." She stopped: the glint in
his eye told her that he didn't believe a word she said!
