A Poem for Mother's Day

Homemade Noodles
Sarah Rebecca made
homemade noodles
Because it was the only way . . .
Everything from scratch!

Rhoda Ann copied her mother
and cooked them
In savory chicken broth
And served them hot
On a plate in a bowl
Made of mashed potatoes.

Velva Ruth remembered how
they warmed her insides,
After school
On cold, snowy Idaho afternoons
And made them from scratch . . .
For us!

And I watched with
little girl eyes,
My nose even with the table top,
A snowy white dish towel covering
A drying mound of homemade noodles.

Laurel Ann (that's me), makes
homemade noodles
Cooked in chicken broth
Served over "real" mashed potatoes
For special occasions . . .
like birthdays,
Not because they're cheap and filling
(which they are),
But because they're labor intensive
and time consuming
and take most the day.
They fill my family with love!

* Written in 1994, this poem is the only thing I've ever written which was published. It was included in the Mesa Public School's writing awards book for that year. I was working as an instructional aide at the time, so qualified to enter something in the contest. I joined Janae (twice) and Eric who had also won awards from MPS and been published. I originally wrote the poem as part of a writing class at ASU. I wanted to honor the mothers who came before me. The picture of Dave and I is also from about 1994.