It was just a yawn. Just a simple little yawn with the admission of, “Man, I am so tired.” She looked at me with a gleam in her eye and said, “Mom, why don’t you lie down for a minute?”

I looked at her. She had a plan, I could tell. And, well, I was tired…

I dropped onto the couch and she stuffed her big sister’s blanket under my head. She gently removed my glasses and put them on the floor. I didn’t say anything about it. I knew she was being careful.

My two youngest girls like to play “massage therapist” quite a bit and I love volunteering to be their client. Katie saw what her sister was doing and decided to set the mood. She grabbed the dust buster and started cleaning up some spots on the floor right next to me. Millie put her hands over my ears so I wouldn’t notice. I grinned.

Katie suddenly realized that maybe running the dust buster wasn’t doing the job of making the atmosphere relaxing and she apologized. I assured her that the sound of someone cleaning was exactly what I love to hear. She grinned.

They took turns rubbing my back..with a 5 pound exercise weight. While Katie was rolling the 5 pound weight over my back, Millie was playing Mary Had A Little Lamb on the piano directly behind me, but as quietly as she could. Then she got a kitchen rag and ran cold water over it. She thought that might feel good against my neck. “Careful, Mom,” she said, “this might be a little cold.” I stifled the urge to yell, “YEOW!” as the damp rag was placed against my skin.

They continued their mission – to make me feel better. It may be that their methods didn’t quite match their intentions, but their intentions stood alone. I felt cared for. What they did didn’t really matter. They showed love to me and it was magic.

A few minutes later I heard her sigh. I said, “Millie, you can stop any time you want to, you know.” She sounded a little relieved. After all, it’s hard work to roll a 5 pound weight around your mom’s back. I thanked her for the relaxing time. I thanked Katie too. They smiled. It was over.

It was perhaps a mundane experience, one I’ve had many times before with a variety of other household objects substituted in the place of the 5 pound weight. But today I noticed their hearts in the matter. And it was magic.