Bedtime Story #1: The Legend of the Secretly Moonlighting Mama

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, lived a not-so-young, not-so-old girl with beautiful, golden, curly locks of hair.  But, although this story grew out of a comment made by the not-so-young, not-so-old girl with beautiful golden, curly locks of hair, it is really a story of desperation and ultimate triumph.  One day, the girl said to her mama, "Mama, I know you love me, and I know you care about me, so please fix my ski pants with a patch.  There is a hole in the knee, and it makes my legs all wet, and I am going to play outside all day tomorrow.  Please, mama, if you love me, please mend my ski pants."  The mama, touched by her daughter's expression of need, reached out her arms to her daughter, and gently assured her by saying "Of course I love you, and of course I care about you, I will not let you down."  Then she proceeded to promptly forget the whole conversation.

Six hours later, the mother woke up from a gentle night's slumber with a start.  She remembered suddenly her grand declarations made only hours earlier.  After briefly considering suggesting to her daughter that she wrap scarves around her knees, she resigned herself to mending the pants.

While searching for something that could be used as a patch, she spotted an unfortunate pair of hockey goalie knee pads.  She rationalized that they were not being used by anyone, and had been acquired for free, so the loss was negligible, she reasoned.

She proceeded to cut two squares out of the knee pads and sewed them together to make a nice, sturdy patch.  It was after she had finished sewing that she discovered the thread she had been using was not black, but yellow - and not a murky, dark yellow that could be interpretted as, say, black, but a bright you-may-not-love-me-but-you-will-notice-me daffodil yellow.

Not only did this yellow thread highlight all the amateur sewing, it most certainly did not disappear against its black backdrop.

Undaunted, but perhaps slightly afflicted by sleep deprivation, the mama decided to mask the colour in a most clever fashion.

Yes, it was even permanent!  Having had much experience attempting to remove permanent marker from many a fabric, the mother silently rejoiced (for the first time) at having non-washable markers in the house.  Her confidence soared as she covered the unsightly yellow with a more pleasant, discreet plum.

The mama then set to work fastening the patch to the afflicted pant leg. At this point, she began to think about her role as a mama.  She had never requested the position of seamstress, yet here she was, hired for the nightshift, without the ability to be fired.  It seemed that life was altogether unfair.

After 20 minutes of minimal progress and a forefinger painfully red from multiple needle punctures, the mama fiercely determined to herself (for who else would wish to share this moment with her?) that there HAD to be another way.   As if on que, she remembered another clever trick she had employed on numerous occasions.

Yes, Super Glue had been a solution to many problems...fixing toys and sealing children's lips, among others.

Within moments, the triumphant mama had successfully adhered the patch, and proudly hung the ski pants on her daughter's hook in the entrance of their home.  Her fatigued state and desperation prevented her from recognizing how awful it really looked. 

  

In the morning, when the mama saw her project in the light, she immediately offered to buy new ski pants for her daughter.  But the not-so-young, not-so-old girl with beautiful, golden, curly locks of hair, insisted, with all the grace of royalty, that the pants looked great, and she was most pleased.   The mama, weak with relief and exhaustion, sank into a chair and said, "I love you and I care about you, and I tried to not let you down."  The End.