Hallelujah! I finally figured out why my mom, who has long since passed, so loved her kitchen window in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She could wash the dishes in the kitchen sink and look out the window past her Pyracantha bush that covered much of the window. The bush allowed her to see what was going on in front of our home without really being seen. She could watch the world and her seven children as we struggled to grow up.
I always wondered what my mom's "intelligence" source was. How did she know I had pulled Patty's hair? Or knocked one of my four brothers off their bicycle? Or the infamous time, at about age seven, when I got caught in a lie by denying that I had actually peed in the garden. I recall with horror my siblings chanting as they sat around our enamel kitchen table, "liar, liar, pants on fire, hang them from a telephone wire". Wow, a telephone wire? I wonder if there are any of those still around?
This past week, I was surprised to find my Mother's source of information. If I was in the mob, the informant who provided the information would be placed in concrete and dropped in say, Mission Bay? Not deep enough! This rat has to go down where it is deep and dark. But how do you sink a piece of clear glass that is simply a view to the world around you?
It was about six pm last Wednesday evening when I confirmed what my mom's source of information had been all those years. It solved a forty year old mystery. The rat was in fact, the kitchen window which was a porthole into our lives. It was quite quizzical that I discovered this so long after my mom had passed. It was pure happenstance that I paused in front of our kitchen sink to look out. In today's world, we do not pause nearly enough. There is always more to do. With the sink in front of me, I peered out to see our seven year old son, Ryan carrying out a bowl of dog food from the garage for our six month old puppy, "Rosie". I had no Pyracantha or rose bush to provide cover, but you don't survive twenty-four years as a street cop without being able to work the angles of a window frame to your benefit.
It was about six pm last Wednesday evening when I confirmed what my mom's source of information had been all those years. It solved a forty year old mystery. The rat was in fact, the kitchen window which was a porthole into our lives. It was quite quizzical that I discovered this so long after my mom had passed. It was pure happenstance that I paused in front of our kitchen sink to look out. In today's world, we do not pause nearly enough. There is always more to do. With the sink in front of me, I peered out to see our seven year old son, Ryan carrying out a bowl of dog food from the garage for our six month old puppy, "Rosie". I had no Pyracantha or rose bush to provide cover, but you don't survive twenty-four years as a street cop without being able to work the angles of a window frame to your benefit.
Ryan gently set the bowl down in front of Rosie in the driveway. He then sat down and crossed his legs to watch her eat. Ryan was totally consumed with what he was watching. His little hands were on his lap as our puppy dug furiously into her food causing the food to start to build up and overflow on one side of the the bowl. Ryan took his right hand and politely pushed down the swelling mountain of dog food so the puppy could eat more easily.
I felt like I was in a trance. I so wanted time to stop. I then wondered why we do not stop more frequently to just watch our children. I tried to imagine what Ryan was thinking as he patiently waited for Rosie and repeatedly the pushed down the growing mountain of food. Some small kernels of the food scattered from the bowl on to the driveway. His little hands then grabbed the kernels of dog food
in each hand. As Rosie finished the food in the bowl he quietly placed both his hands behind his back, concealing the last dozen or so bits of her food.
It was like he had a little surprise for our puppy. As Rosie sniffed around for more food, he gently held both of his closed little hands above the bowl and then ceremoniously released his treasure. As the kernels fell to the bottom of the bowl, he smiled and I could hear his little angelic little boy voice say, "Here you go Rosie". Rosie did not need encouragement. She finished the remainder of her food.
It was then I realized why despite the cold weather, my mom always kept the kitchen window at least partially open. It also popped into my head why I got so busted, so many years ago. My mom never really saw what I had done early that summer morning ... She simply had heard my transgression. Boy I miss her and that old window that brought so much joy to her and our entire family.
Enjoy your week. We have a nice four bedroom cul-de-sac home coming up for rent on the south side of 4S ranch on Sept. 1st. We also have two awesome cul-de-sac homes hitting the market shortly. One with a huge yard! If your interested please give us a holler. Don't forget, Theresa and I are never too busy for your referrals. I promise we will take great care of them.
Take care,
Ray and Theresa Shay
