When God Created Mothers
by Erma Bombeck
When the Good Lord was creating mothers, He was into his sixth day
of “overtime” when an angel appeared and said, “You’re doing a lot of fiddling
around on this one.”
And the Lord said, “Have you read the specs on this order?
· She has
to be completely washable, but not plastic;
· Have 180
movable parts... all replaceable;
· Run on
black coffee and leftovers;
· Have a
lap that disappears when she stands up;
· A kiss
that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair;
· And six
pairs of hands.”
The angel shook her head slowly and said, “Six pairs of hands...
no way.”
“It’s not the hands that are causing me problems,” said the Lord. “It’s the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have.”
“That’s on the standard model?” asked the angel.
The Lord nodded. “One pair that sees through closed doors when she
asks, ’What are you kids doing in there?’ when she already knows. Another here
in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn’t but what she has to know,
and of course the ones here in front that can look at a child when he goofs up
and say, ’I understand and I love you’ without so much as uttering a word.”
“Lord,” said the angel, touching His sleeve gently, “Go to bed.
Tomorrow...”
“I can’t,” said the Lord, “I’m so close to creating something so
close to myself. Already I have one who heals herself when she is sick... can
feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger... and can get a nine-year-old
to stand under a shower.”
The angel circled the model of a mother very slowly. “It’s too
soft,” she sighed.
“But she’s tough!” said the Lord excitedly. “You cannot imagine
what this mother can do or endure.”
“Can it think?”
“Not only can it think, but it can reason and compromise,” said
the Creator.
Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek.
“There’s a leak,” she pronounced. “I told You You were trying to push too much
into this model.”
“It’s not a leak,” said the Lord. “It’s a tear.”
“What’s it for?”
“It’s for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness, and
pride.”
“You are a genius,” said the angel.
The Lord looked somber. “I didn’t put it there,” He said.
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