"The BEST"

                                              

                                                         "THE BEST"
                                                     

I had resolved after a few good 'lectures' from my daughter Debbie to try and not say everything that came into my head. But I forgot it from time to time, most recently,the day that we were all sitting around after our meeting at the senior center and the conversation went naturally to our children and grandchildren.

Debbie had just come to pick me up and take me to my doctor's visit. I knew how busy she was with her home,children and job. That she managed to fit my appointment in with her heavy schedule, I appreciated  more than I could say. I gave her a hug and announced to the room in general, "I have the best kids!" 

It was not met with the pleased look from her that I expected, but with more of a frown."Ma" she whispered, "Don't do that."

"Don't do what?" I asked, puzzled

"You know,"  she hissed between her teeth, " brag, boast...like you used to tell us!"

'Like you used tell us' Her words struck me like lightening, Life. The Turning Of The Wheel.  Now they are teaching me!
"But it's about you and your brother," I said, "how wonderful you are...don't you like it when I say that?"
"Sure," she pointed into the room, "but they think they have the 'best kids' too!"
 I just stared at her, she sounded so mature. Just as I was starting to give myself credit for that she went on... "And you did it last week too. You told everybody that living at the ocean was so special..."
as though it made you better than everyone else...!"
"It is special." I exclaimed, starting to get defensive. "All my adult life I have lived on ' Ocean Parkway' in Brooklyn," Beach Channel Drive in Belle Harbor, Long Beach Road, in Oceanside, here on Long Island. Why shouldn't I brag about it?"
"Yeah, well your new neighbor Gloria didn't love it!"
"Can you imagine, Deb, she had never even seen the ocean until now and she in her sixties!"
"So Ma, you made her feel bad?  Is that what you wanted ?"
"Not at all, she told me how she grew up in the mid -west on the banks of a river, "a big river",and how exciting that was."
"And what did you say Ma?" asked Debbie.
"Well, I suppose I could have been more polite..."
"Yeah, so what did you say!"
"I told her, ' a river is nice but a river is not an ocean! Our majestic sea touches continents, explorers crossed it and discovered our country...of course there were people here already" I hastened to add.
Her eye rolling began..."And...then what happened?"
"Well, she didn't answer, she walked away...to the other end of the room..."
"Nice way to make new friends, Ma."
I shrugged,"I really didn't mean to hurt her feelings. But I can fix it!"
"How?"
"I'll her that her river is just as great as my ocean...  how's that? 
"Also," I was excited, "I'll tell that her kids are the best too...if she has any..."
"You don't know?"
"I just met her."
"Oh," said Debbie, "but if she does have kids, maybe hers are not 'the best' like yours are...and mine," she added, laughing.
"That's right, they could be the worst!"
"Mmmm, maybe it's better not to mention them."
We both laughed.
I loved it when we agreed on something.

                                 THE END