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And Words Are All I Have

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To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act of kindness
is better than a thousand heads bowed in prayer.”
~ Saadi.

Small Kindnesses

How will we be remembered? By our grand strokes? Perhaps. But what will unquestionably commemorate the very best within each of us are the small and unexpected kindnesses we bestow on others, those we offer with no expectation of acknowledgement or accolade.

I remember as a child of eight going camping with a neighboring family. Mr. and Mrs. White were friends of my parents and I had come to know their two children. I had never experienced outdoor life quite like this before: this was truly an adventure. We sat around a bonfire that first night, and I was bewitched.

I lived in an apartment above a hardware store: we weren't big campers. After a singsong and marshmallow roast we headed inside the cavernous tent, crawled into our sleeping bags and drifted off.

I awoke in the early hours to discover the absolute worst had happened, the singular thing I lived in wretched fear of throughout my childhood. I had, quite simply, wet my sleeping bag. Oh, not simply wet it: Think garden hose. Think Victoria Falls.

There are few things more desolate to a little girl than lying fully awake in the dark surrounded by, essentially, strangers, all sleeping soundly, her sleeping bag sodden, shivering cold and scared to move a muscle in case someone might suspect.

An inveterate bed-wetter as a child, I can still remember how torn I was when asked by friends to join them in sleepovers. Should I, shouldn't I? Other girls went off blithely to these overnight parties, without a care in the world, it seemed to me then. Meanwhile in my mind these questions played on a loop: Would this be the night the floodgates let loose on a friend's unsuspecting 900-count bed linens? How could I face them afterwards? And what if they talked?

Come to think of it I don't quite know why I ever agreed to this camping sleepover, except that now and again a person just decides to let the dice roll. (I am still amazed it didn't make me risk-averse.)

As I waited interminably for dawn to arrive, I listened to the forest sounds around me, trying to figure a way out of my dilemma with some shred of dignity intact. Everyone would know. They'd know. And I had worked so hard at seeming grown up around my two new older friends. The temperature dipped steadily as the hours ticked by, adding to my list of worries. Would I have to be physically chipped out of my saturated enclosure with pick-axes, because it had turned into a solid block of ice?

When my tent-mates finally began to stir I feigned sleep, feeling ridiculous and small and overwhelmingly homesick, wishing I could be transported to a parallel universe. I considered several options, a couple even within the realm of possibility. I thought about rolling the bag up and running with it out the tent, headlong into the forest behind the campsite, shrieking, claiming that I had discovered a rodent the size of nside it upon awakening.

It's a trifle easier for bed wetters now: Kids today can rely on trusty "pull-ups," with saturation levels akin to deep sea sponges. This is a product I would have sold my next of kin for back then, without a backward glance.

Resigned, I awaited my doom alone, in active dread. It seemed like the family would never finish breakfast. Mrs. White's daughter poked her head in the tent suddenly and asked if I wanted to go for a bike ride with them. From the confines of my soggy cocoon I begged off, claiming a tummy upset.

"I'm sure I'll be okay later," I said, trying to sound buoyant.

Once they'd left I unzipped myself from the crime scene, got dressed, hid the grim evidence as best I could, and went out to meet my fate. Mrs. White had stayed behind and was clearing the breakfast things. I approached her cautiously: I had no idea what to expect. I did not know the woman very well.

She turned toward me, happy to see that I had finally surfaced.

"Good morning dear," she chirped, warmly. "How are you feeling?"

I had to tell someone, I realized, my heart sinking. "I've had an accident," I blurted out, trying not to cry.

"What is it?" she said, rushing over to me."What's wrong, Tricia?"

"My sleeping bag: I've ruined it," I squeaked, unable to hold back my tears.

Without missing a beat, she said, brightly: "Not to worry,"and gathered me up in her arms. "It's past time they had a good cleaning anyway. Let's bring them all out and give them a hosing down."

I did not need to be asked twice. I broke a land speed record gathering up all the bedding and piling it outside.

By the time the others returned all five of our sleeping bags were blowing in a strong breeze on the wash line that Mrs. White and I had rigged up. Mine, once soaked, now looked no different than the others: I was exultant.

That night when I crawled into the now-pristine sleeping bag I discovered that inside was a thick plastic sheet atop a cotton one. The next morning and for the two following it I was dry as a bone upon waking. Mrs. White never mentioned the incident again.

As I write this I can't recall exactly what Mrs. White looked like or whether I ever saw her again. But I will never forget what she did for me that sun-drenched summer morning so long ago, how she made it possible for a little girl to hold her head up and move on.

(Photo courtesy of Polly Chandler.)

A Sad Child


You're sad because you're sad.
It's psychic. It's the age. It's chemical.
Go see a shrink or take a pill,
or hug your sadness like an eyeless doll
you need to sleep.
Well, all children are sad
but some get over it.
Count your blessings. Better than that,
buy a hat. Buy a coat or pet.
Take up dancing to forget.
Forget what?
Your sadness, your shadow,
whatever it was that was done to you
the day of the lawn party
when you came inside flushed with the sun,
your mouth sulky with sugar,
in your new dress with the ribbon
and the ice-cream smear,
and said to yourself in the bathroom,
I am not the favorite child.
My darling, when it comes
right down to it
and the light fails and the fog rolls in
and you're trapped in your overturned body
under a blanket or burning car,
and the red flame is seeping out of you
and igniting the tarmac beside your head
or else the floor, or else the pillow,
none of us is;
or else we all are.

~~Margaret Atwood


The road to wisdom?
Well, it’s plain and simple to express.
Err
and err
and err again
but less and less
and less.

~ Piet Hein
I am listening. I'll leave the porch light on for you. Share your thoughts with me here ~ writer@triciamccallum.com
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