Last night, in the kitchen
I was preparing dinner when my little boy came in.
He held out a piece of scribbled paper.
I wiped my hands on my apron,
and read it. And this is what it said:
For having made my bed all week, 3 francs
For having done errands, 1 franc
For having watched the baby while you did errands, 1.25 francs
For having brought down the garbage 75 centimes
For having taken up the garbage 1.10 francs
For having watered the flowers on the balcony 25 centimes
Total 9.85 francs
I looked at it, he squirmed and chewed his pencil
and a throng of memories came back into my mind.
So I took his pencil, I turned over the paper and this is what I wrote:
For nine months of patience and twelve hours of suffering
Free
For so many waking nights, watching your sleep
Free
For the merry-go-round rides, toys, college
Free
And when you go around, the total of my love
It's free
When he finished reading, there was sorrow in his eyes.
He lifted his head and said:
"Mom, I love you very much."
He took his paper, turned it over, and in big, big letters, wrote:
"Free"
And when you go around, the total of the love,
It's free, it's free