Small Moment From My Past

My sister and I were in one of those moods when we did not want to go down for our nap.  I being the oldest, may have been the instigator although I don't remember that part very clearly.  Colleen, a year and a half younger than I  was and yet we were both very young.  It was before we started kindergarten and in those days there was no preschool. Mother stayed home and she was our preschool.

Our mother had already attempted to put us in our shared bedroom for a nap multiple times.  Normally, if we didn't comply, there would be some scolding and threats of what would happen if we came out of our bedroom one more time.  

This day was different and perhaps that is why it is a strong memory of a moment from my childhood.  

We were not cooperating and had left our bedroom yet again.  Both of us were playing around the legs of our mother as she was standing at the sink doing the dishes.  I remember that she was quietly working and her mood subdued.  As a small child, I looked up at her from where I sat at her feet and saw quiet tears streaming down her face as she methodically washed a cup, rinsed it and set it in the drainer.  

I felt empathy for mom at such a young age.  I grabbed my sister's hand and we went off to our bedroom and fell asleep for a good long nap.