Thursday, September 06, 2007

Tent City


It's quiet now. Finally. Five o'clock in the morning and I'm on my third cup of coffee. Tiptoeing, as quietly as one can dragging a concrete block on the other foot, through the house. I'm letting "them" sleep. The manchild and his friend.

In my little corner of the world, piled up under heavy quilts and wrapped in cat tails, puppy breaths, and interupted dreams, I listened as they lived. Cell phones humming, purring, rapping. Channels flicking. A cough every now and then. Heavy feet down the hall. Engines louder then softer again somewhere outside.

My son is home again.

And this house, these walls, this gate that swings open and never shuts behind you, is The Motel Six for wayward boys once again.

In the wee, wee hours, he wakes me up. Quietly, whispering love letters into my ear. "Ma, Ma.....is it o.k. if A.J. camps out here? He got thrown out of his house again....."

"mmmmmmmmm" "yes, son" I whisper to nothing.

He's already turned and taken 6 foot tall steps back down the hall.

He knows.

29 comments:

Lola Starr said...

I love this post-so quiet and soothing. Glad your son is home with you again. :) Hugs!

Sandy Kessler said...

safe haven - what more could a mother ask for of big sons??

justacoolcat said...

That's so sweet. What time do you get up at anyway?

Chris Benjamin said...

in mongolia any woman who has five kids or more is given the officially prestigious title of Greatmother. it's part of the plan to up the population.

since in this part of the world we seem to have no shortage of people (for now), i think we should give that title based purely on quality.

You are a Greatmother.

singleton said...

karma....I wrote the post in the early morning quiet! Had I started a few hours earlier, it probably wouldn't have sounded so soothing! LOL! They are really big boys and make a wholelotta racket! And of course, there's a "story" and "new luggage" that comes with each return trip home! Oh, for love......

sandy...well, this has always been the place. For my kids, other people's kids, and kids we've barely known, passing by for the moment, for the crises, for a deep breath. We grew up in a house much the same. Other people brought home stray cats and dogs, we brought home people! Everybody has to feel welcome somewhere, and have a roof even if every now and then you have to nudge them down the drive-way with a little knapsack over their shoulder to get them going again!

Peace~love sweet Girls

singleton said...

JACC....Well, I would like to think "not that early", but in this little bedlam we call home.....Anytime it's quiet, is a good time for me to rise and shine! :)

Benji...Well, you've wooed me over! I'll take it! Just remind me I'm a Great Mother when I throw my next hissy fit over...
who changed the oil into my tupperware bowl in the driveway,
who took my Pink Floyd CD?
Where did all the beer go?
Just kidding, I don't much have hissy fits over the little stuff anymore, learned three teenagers ago......to wage those battles well!

Peace~love to all

SpongyBones said...

Just so you know. I'm moving in, don't worry I will be quiet and I know how to ask for things when you're in dreamland!

Katherine said...

What a wonderful and accepting mom you are! And the pic...did you make that gate? Is that a painting?

kj said...

i wish i had said exactly what karma lennon said.

sigh. welcome home son....

singleton said...

Spongy....Bring Beer!

katherine....That would be my kitchen door! The gate was built years ago, so in the evenings I could leave the door open, trapse across the barely 12 feet that seperate me from my neighbors and sit on their porch.....leaving MoonPie the giant Mama dog in charge of tattling on the kids if they got out of hand! She never once jumped it, but on occassion would give that giant gutteral woof!woof! that beckoned me home. I've no need for it now, the kids are grown, and Pie smiles on us from heaven, but it remains....
a welcome to our World.....

singleton said...

kj.....And you have! Boys will be boys, and surely one day they will grow up and have wings of their own, but until then, they keep taking broken flight....And the nest, old and tired, remains....almost knocked outta the tree a dozen times, lost in hurricanes, thin and no longer beribboned, but here....
We call it Home.

mindy said...

i love that he knows.. yet still asks. :)

Momentary Madness said...

like my two they've left they're back, they're gone again, you never know when or what the real reason, you can only be there and that's good of you. Everyone needs someone to fall back on from time to time always. "You just call out my name and you know wherever I amm I'll come..... yoy've got a friend."
Y;-) Paddy

drips of paint said...

Very soothing to have read this.....

sleep well tonight greatmother .. tomorrow Friday!!! I can hear your hurray..

singleton said...

Mindy....yeah, that's pretty much how they get me everytime! Asking when they know I'll say yes, and not saying a peep, if they think I'll say no!:)

Paddy....Open doors, Open arms, Open hearts. "Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall"......

Drips...I am Soooooooo glad it's Friday! Could you hear me yippee-yi-ing all the way over there?

Peace~love my friends....
And a week-end!

M@ said...

Man-children are such a pain in the arse. Glad I'm growing up.

Lucy Dee said...

So what do you call it when the 'Empty Nest' becomes filled again? They should create a term for that.

Beautiful description by the way. I feel like I'm truly there.

If you get bored over the weekend, feel free to drop by my corner of the blogosphere. I'm currently going through a bit of Empty Nest syndrome myself. I could always use some company and a comment to keep me occupied.

Gill said...

...he knows. He knows you well enough to know that he is showing you respect by asking, and that the answer to follow will be yes. He knows you care.
xo
Blue

Justgivemepeace said...

Matt....LOL! I'll believe that when I see it! Nice to hear from you, man

Lucy...I think they call it respite! Until the next whirlwind comes flying in! I will bop over and visit, thank you for stopping by, Nice to meet ya!

Blue...I hope he always knows that. By the way, AJ got a new job today, found a place to maybe rent in a week or two, so that'll be one flying off....Until the next time, or the next one.....xo

Peace~love~to all

singleton said...

Oooops!
It's so hard to tell myself apart from me!
Peace~love, And it's Friday, guys!

Acquaintance said...

Hey Singleton, how've you been?

Sorry but I took off that one post off but I probably still am going put it back on over time but for right now I'm going to keep it hidden. Shhh :P

I love the engine part the best I hear loud cars going by all the time. And that's exactly how it sounds, loud then soft.

Take care :D

singleton said...

mavin....Gotchya! We call those vent~posts! Let 'em fly for the necessary moment and then snatch 'em back off the clothesline! It's all cool......
And yup, that's exactly how it sounds.....
Have a nice week-end, friend

eric1313 said...

May your reunion be everything it should be between a mom who also knows, and knew it always.

eric1313 said...

I bet he's partying on a friday night, if he's anything like you.

singleton said...

eric....OMG! You mean he's his mother's child?

eric1313 said...

what a trip, huh?

singleton said...

eric....deja vue with a twisted lime! :)

SHE said...

as my kids grow up, out, and return; i want to be just like you

open heart, open arms, open frig, open beer, open door and loving nudges toward the exit

great read!

singleton said...

She...Sometimes we have to let them back in, and sometimes we have to let them go....sometimes we have to push them slightly, and sometimes, in spite of everything we feel, we have to turn our backs, not our hearts or eyes, but our backs.....and say you can do it on your own.....
And if they fail, we have to do it all over again.....
I'm learning as I go....
Love grows.....