mom, off the clock

We were home, after being on the road for eight or nine days (you lose count) straight. Even though we were both really tired, we were determined to have a good home cooked meal. You see, we were home only for one full day and then it's another five or six (you lose count) on the road. We headed over to the grocery store to pick up some tomatoes and to the liquor store to pick up some Chianti ... simple ingredients for a tasty sauce.

I had to return a defective DVD to Amazon so I zipped over to the post office, on the way back I drove by a coffee area and was brought up short. Some of you may remember I wrote a post called, Down Syndrome, Off The Clock a while back. Well, there was the young man from the post sitting, reading, with a cup of coffee in front of him. All alone. He was absorbed in his reading, simply being out and about. Better said ... 'simply being'. I smiled at the growth that must have happened in the relationship between him and his family in only a short time.

Later, in the grocery store, I spot a woman I am sure I remember to be his mom. Only, oddly, she looks younger. We only have a few ingredients to pick up so we hurry about. We don't want to spend our only evening at home out shopping for groceries. Our enthusiasm for cooking was on the wane too, we knew we had to get home and get chopping or we'd be having toast and cereal. As we waited in line, I watched the woman pay for her groceries and leave the store. She was happily chatting on her cell phone with someone. Who ever it was clearly was funny, she laughed freely.

'Is it her?' I wondered.

We left the store and headed over to the elevators that would take us up to the exit. I glanced over and saw her sitting with her son. They were chatting. Easily. She had done her thing. He had done his.

I wonder if she ever thought she'd be ...

mom, off the clock.