Lunch with Janette

by Renee Hawkley

I was feeling a little downhearted, so I called my married daughter, Janette, to see if we could meet for lunch. She told me to pick her up in ten or fifteen minutes when she stopped bleeding. Bleeding? BLEEDING?
"What happened?"
"Mom, I was using my rotary cutter to cut quilt blocks and sliced a piece off the end of my index finger."
OK, I told myself. Don't panic. Just get there!
I arrived at her house and determined that doctors or stitches weren't needed. Whew! Then, we figured out how to get a band-aid to stick to the tip of her finger.
Crisis over, we drove to the nearby Sonic Drive-in with the rollerskating waiters and shaded picnic tables. Janette ordered for both of us . . . grilled cheese kids' meals with fries, a cookie and fruit slushies . . . and we talked about all the important stuff. Like her new responsibilities at work due to a promotion, clothes we needed, places where the clothes might be on sale and the questionable incidents at a recent wedding reception. Fries and girltalk . . . delicious!
Woops! Our 30-minute lunch had turned into 45, so we quickly dropped our napkins, straws and cups into the garbage and headed for the car. I drove her home, and we exchanged quick "I love you's."
At a stoplight, I noticed that "feeling a little downhearted" had been replaced by a warm assurance that reminded me of when I was the daughter, and my mom put a band-aid on my hurts.
I guess it's true. Life's a circle, and what goes around comes around.
Thanks for the band-aid, Janette . . . you're a great mom in the making!