Tanka Haibun : First Snow

first snow icy cold
staying in, cuddling with books
playing indoor games
laughter fills up small spaces
shhhh, dad is hibernating

tanka by M. Nakazato LaFreniere

When I was a kid, it seemed like in the winter, mom kept telling us to shush because dad was sleeping.  I didn’t know back then that along with his fulltime job in the air force, dad would take whatever part-time jobs he could get to make sure we got nice presents for Christmas.  So he would sleep when got home from work for a few hours before the graveyard job started. He said his worst job was cleaning monkey cages in Duluth, Minnesota winter.  Apparently monkeys like to throw shit at you.

There are so many sacrifices parents make that we as children never know.  Sometimes we find out when you get to talking as adults or from relatives but a lot of times we never do.  So here’s a moment of gratitude to mom and dad (both passed) who sacrificed sleep, time and so much more that we’ll never know about for us kids.

References:

December 13th 2017, first snow
Heeding Haiku With Chèvrefeuille
Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie

second life photo by M. Nakazato LaFreniere, avatar Kayla Woodrunner