The Blue and the Red Elephant

My mother was a teacher. A math teacher.

I grew up passing my afternoons in the kitchen, studying or playing around while she was immersed in papers and tests to be reviewed. I wished I could play with my mommy, just like all my friends did, and watching her giving so much attention to other children filled me with jealousy.

I used to bother her, continuously asking for some time, just for me, while she worked at the kitchen table, writing marks and comments on those papers.

Sometimes she finished her work in time to play some game before dinner, but mostly she just had too much to do, so at some point, she paused just to make dinner and resumed working right after eating.

When she couldn’t play with me she used to soothe my jealousy by drawing a smiley elephant face on my palm with the blue and red pens she used for her work. She hoped it could be enough and I made her believe so.

After 30 years, she is retired and lives with me. I know she feels the urge to make up for the time lost when I was a kid, and it is not rare to find her bothering me for something, usually something to do together, while I’m busy working on my computer.

One day, the elephant trick popped into my mind, so I took her hand and drew it on her palm. With just a black pen.

We both laughed.