Take Me Back

Take Me Back to When We were Kids

"Look who's precious little redheaded princess just came in? Welcome home, sweetheart!" my mom greeted as my nine-year-old self walked through the door.

My mom was a stay-at-home mom while my dad was away most of the time. Working in the army took up most of his time for us. I eventually got used to it just being my mom and I, but my dad was missed. I'd write letters to him and wait for his letters or phone calls. My recent one was so cool because I got my friend Max to draw a picture of him in class.

"Hey, Mom!" I said excitingly as I gave her a hug. My heart and body were so happy to be home. My friends and I played a little too rough at recess, so I was pretty tired. Something happened today that I didn't even think would happen.

"How was your day, hun?" Mom asked as she took my lunch box. This was our usual routine.

-Get off the bus.

-Say hi to Mom and hug her.

-Give her my lunch box so she can pack it for the next day.

-Eat an afternoon snack and talk to Mom about my day.

-Do homework.

-Watch cartoons.

-Eat dinner.

-Take a bath.

-Get ready for bed with Mom.

-Go to sleep.

"It was great! I met a new friend named Carmon. She was so cool. She has a few other friend, but I haven't met them yet. She wants me to meet them. She invited me to a birthday party!" I said excitingly as I bit into my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Like I didn't just eat one earlier.

"That's amazing, sweetie. Well, I'm sure your dad will be happy to hear about that when he comes home," Mom sighed as she prepared my lunch on the granite countertop.

"Has Dad called yet, Mom?" I asked as I looked up from my sandwich. Mom hated when I asked that question. She'd always look up at me with a blank face sigh at me, saying "Jana, he's going to call soon. I'm sure of it."

I tilted my head. She's said that for the past several of weeks. I wonder if she knew something that I didn't. She tried to play it off as if everything was fine, but she was a bad actress. My heart sensed some bad energy flowing around here.

"You've said that plenty of times before, Mom. Is he really okay?" I asked with worry in my heart.

"He's fine, honey. Why don't you start on that homework? I heard you have a surprise coming up if you finish it all by tomorrow," she said trying to change the subject. As a kid, when I sensed something was wrong, that followed me until I figured out what was really wrong.

Her red hair laid over her shoulder and her left green eye as she spread the peanut butter on the bread. She wasn't okay when that happened. I could feel it. She stared the sandwich down as if she was about to kill it.

"That's true. I get my prize tomorrow! Well, let me know if Dad calls," I said as I threw my crust away. Every time I get a sandwich, I had to make sure there was no crust on it. To this day.

So my homework wasn't that long. It took me about 30-40 minutes to finish. I had to read my favorite book for 25 minutes, do my math homework, and study my spelling words. It made me feel better knowing my spelling words, so I studied them backward and forward. That's why it took a little longer than expected.

Once I finished it, I thought my mom would like to check over my math homework or help me with my spelling words. Walking towards the stairs, I overheard my mom arguing with someone else over the phone. I walked a few steps down and sat on the middle step.