She wakes, scrambles eggs and smoothes the bed
She laughs, as I yawn and scratch my head
And she slides a brand-new princess comb through the knots in my hair
She holds my hand as we walk there
First day, screams and spit balls fill the air
And I cling, but she nods and I climb the stairs
She waves, til the school bus pulls away, disappears
Then sings a song to quiet her fears:
Spread your wings and fly
Outstretched to the sky
Spread your wings and fly
My butterfly
Ten years, and then another ten go by
And I move, find a job and find a guy
And I call, with a spring in my step, tear in my eye
"Mom, we set the date for July."
She brings, somethin' old and somethin' blue,
And we talk, with an hour left and nothing left to do,
And I've got ... a stomach full of big butterflies,
But she takes my hand and looks in my eyes:
BRIDGE
She takes her grandkids' pictures from the wall
On her last day, she cleans her desk and walks down the hall
Looks both ways and, wonders what to do now, what happens next...
When she asks, I know what to suggest: