By Jocelyn

It’s always been the small things.
The sound of my iphone before I hit snooze.
The challenge of finding a matching set of hospital scrubs.
tops are clean but where are my blue bottoms?
No time.

The sound of my niece and sister arguing:
But I don’t wanna go to school I’m tired
Mami I don’t like school no more.
to:WELL I DON’T CARE GET UP AND BRUSH
YOUR TEETH BECAUSE YOU’RE 4 YRS OLD
AND YOU’RE GOING!
Sometimes hilarious
sometimes annoying.
But I miss it.

The texts from my mom:
I KNOW YOU SEEN MY MISSED CALLS!
CALL ME BACK ASAP!
The way I rush to call her back:
Yes Ma. What happened?
Her: Oh, nothing I’m just bored …
What are you doing?
I miss shaking my head at her.

I miss jumping into my Lexus coupe
with red plush leather seats.
Starting it with just the push of a button.
The vroom! as I breeze down the highway.
Running errands or rushing to work.
Arriving late to Ms. Brown’s lecture:
This is the second time this month you know?
But I just hear: womp womp womp
The smile on my clients’ faces.

I miss shopping … salmon, steak, lobsters and shrimps.
Cooking my special Cajun lobster mac and cheese.
My house – the smell of lavender, Pine-sol and Lysol.
Finally relaxing to the scent of vanilla candles.

Oh, how I miss the small things.
The small things that come free.