To All Moms
Five or six years old, in a car with my head pressed against the window looking up at the midnight stars, wondering if the moon was chasing us or were we following the moon. We have been in the car for days, my stomach is growling so loud, and my mom states we are stopping to get gas soon and she will grab something to eat, but I have to stay in the car. She goes over the rules: keep the doors locked, stay buckled, etc. We pull up, she goes in, and on her way back out she has the saddest look on her face. Looking at the pump, it stops at $3.23. I hear the gas cap being screwed on and the pop from her fighting to get the gas door shut. She gets it the car, slams her hands on the wheel at 10 and 2, and tears start sliding down her cheek. As we are pulling away, she reaches in her pocket, pulls out a bag of chips, and hands them to me. Trying to hide her tears with a fake smirk, she keeps apologizing to me, saying things will get better, and she will stop again soon for food.
