Here's Your Hat, What's Your Hurry?

So I guess my mother has been on my mind since I cleaned out her recipe box last week. Actually, this past week has been full of those small coincidences that make you think the Universe is sending messages. For instance, yesterday, Andrea went out to the garden and returned with half a dozen cucumbers. "Where's your friend?" she asked. She knows that I don't even like cucumbers; I only grow them for my friend Kathleen, who loves them. "Oh, yeah, I haven't talked to Kathleen in awhile. I need to message her," I replied. I swear, it was only a minute later that a message from Kathleen popped up on Messenger! "We haven't talked in awhile. Are you free on Monday?" she wrote. So yeah, that happened.

But back to my mother. "Here's your hat, what's your hurry?" was one of Mom's favorite expressions. This somewhat contradictory phrase was used to rush some visitor out the door in a more polite way than saying, "Time for you to go now!" Why my mother used this phrase enough for me to remember her saying it (always as a joke) is rather puzzling, as we didn't have many visitors, nor did we visit others very often. But clearly, she loved the phrase. Her other favorite phrase was "God dammit to hell!" (My father's was "Jesus, Mary and Joseph!") I grew up on these exclamations and learned to pay attention to the tone of voice when they were uttered. You could say that I grew up in a very religious household, I guess?

Anyway, my memory of the phrase (thanks, Mom) comes at a time when people I love have been coming and going in a crazy hurry. After my daughter's North Carolina wedding, the rest of my family gathered here in New Jersey. And then the coming and going began. First, E left. Then C and J left, then S and A and L left. A and L returned, then J returned. Then J and A and L left, and tomorrow J and C return, only to leave again next week. And then K will come home for a few days. After that, I will be alone for the rest of the summer. (Do you know how hard it was for me to get that down in order?) I tried to make a word out of those initials, but all I could come up with was JACKELS, a misspelling of jackals. Well, look up "jackals" in Wikipedia and you will find that the jackal is frequently used as "a literary device to illustrate desolation, loneliness, and abandonment." Does the Universe send messages? I rest my case.

Oh, on a somewhat related note, my dove is back on her nest, and the male is sitting on the fence and boasting about it. I like knowing that those in love can be reunited. Thanks for the sign, Universe!