#1 A bun in the oven

A breeze floated through the Oak and Apple trees surrounding Aunt Sally’s farmhouse. Gladys starred at the shutters hand painted with magnolias and debated whether or not she should go inside. She took a deep breath and shuffled to the back. The smell of warm cake billowed around the screen door. Gladys knocked softly secretly hoping that Aunt Sally wouldn’t hear.

“I’m coming, just hold on. I’m coming.” Her eyes twinkled with excitement as she pushed on the door. “Oh my goodness, Land sakes. Look who’s at my door! Don’t just stand there child, come on in. I’m so glad to see you.”

Aunt Sally grabbed Gladys and gave her a hug so hard it made Gladys cough. She couldn't help but smile in return.

“It’s been quite a while since you sat a spell with Aunt Sally. Pull yourself on in here and let’s pull up a pulpit and talk.”

Gladys looked around the kitchen warm with memories of happy times. As a child she played with Aunt Sally’s children and shared many meals in this room. Gladys rubbed the polished wood of the big family table and took a seat near the end. She fidgeted wondering if Aunt Sally would understand.

“Honey, you look as pitiful as ham without eggs. I’m sure something must be wrong. But don’t you worry none. We’ll sit a spell and make the sun shine.” Aunt Sally swirled around to the stove. “Let me get us some good coffee and something to eat and then you can tell me what’s got you so down in the mouth. I just made a fresh pot of black forest coffee. Ummmm is it goo-oo-od! ” She shook her head and smacked her lips. Aunt Sally loved her coffee.

She pulled down two mugs and reached for plates. She lifted the old tin lid on an antique cake plate. Rushing the contents to the table she announced, “And to go with it a three layer chocolate cake. I do hate to take on this way, but I’m so hungry my belly thinks my throat’s cut.” Aunt Sally guffawed.

“Here ya go sweetie. Fix your coffee and I’ll cut the cake. I do need to ask you something. Sister Martha told me you had a bun in the oven. How precious! I’m sure you are so thrilled……Woah!”

Tears splashed down Gladys cheeks. She put her head in her hands.

“What ya crying for? This ain’t no way to take on. You know that Martha. She gets ‘round so much she keeps running into herself. If she was just taking on, it don’t matter none. Don’t cry about it.”

Gladys shook her head. “It’s not that. I am… pregnant…Oh Aunt Sally.” She grabbed Aunt Sally around the waist and buried her head in the apron.

“Oh. You are going to have a baby.” Aunt Sally paused to size up the situation. “Well good! Ain't that nice?”

Gladys shook her head again.

Aunt Sally sighed. “Are these tears of joy?” She lifted Gladys’ face out of her apron. “Heaven’s dear don’t go into a snit. Take my hankie and dry those eyes. Let's eat a little cake and drink a little coffee and you can tell Aunt Sally everything. And you know what? It’s going to be jest fine.” Aunt Sally patted her hands and pushed the coffee closer.

Like a best friend Aunt Sally sat in silence and drank her coffee and nibbled at her cake. She waited patiently for Gladys to find her courage. Aunt Sally’s cake was almost gone when Gladys finally made eye contact.

“I’m scared. You probably don’t understand being scared about a baby. It’s just that there’s so much junk in the world. I’ll be totally responsible for another human being. What if I mess up? What if I am such a failure at parenting that I raise a mass murderer or just a really messed up kid? I love Fred and we really do want children, but now that it’s happening, I’m just so scared. My parents caused me some problems and Fred’s parents – well everyone in town knows how awful they were. Maybe we aren’t prepared for this. I’ve never been totally responsible for anyone ever – not even in school. I’ve never been in charge of a club or even served on a committee. How in the world am I going to raise a human being without messing it up?”

Aunt Sally just smiled and shook her head back and forth. Then she giggled and finally she got up, pulled Gladys to her feet and hugged her hard while giving her little pats on the back. Gladys cried as if her heart would break. Finally she plopped back down in the chair while Aunt Sally poured another cup of coffee.

“I can’t believe you are so worried about having a precious bundle. Don’t you know that life is short and full of blisters, but having a baby keeps us centered? I think you’ve been ponderin’ so hard, you ain’t had time to think.”

Aunt Sally poured a tall glass of milk and set it in front of Gladys. “Now I know that today’s life is nothin’ like how I grew up. You're right about that. But the roots that I came from are still alive and well. We just have to dig for them and make sure that we got aholt of the real thing. With all that’s going’ on nowadays we start digging for roots and we come up with a lot of rot.

Take for instance all those physio-chia-trists. A lot of people go down the creek with them. Some of them I’ve heard tell would hold a fish under water to drown it! And then you got parents bolting from here to there trying to find some magic cure. They are doing a heap of stirring and making no biscuits.”

Aunt Sally’s eyes grew soft and her smile spread wide. “You want the truth dear. Old Aunt Sally will give you the truth.” She took Gladys hands and held them in her own.

“You got a heart as soft as summer butter. I can tell that. You want to do what’s right for your child. That’s the best place to start. After a whole heap of loving, then you got to work your praying’ bones. You know what I mean by that don’t ya? Get down on your knees everyday and build a rainbow from your house to heaven for your child.”

Aunt Sally sat back and took a long drink of coffee. Gladys was beginning to relax when Aunt Sally pointed her finger.

“Then you’ve got to live right. Most kids don’t know how to live their life because they never seen it done right. Their parents heads are full of stump water, they’d rather tell a lie for credit than the truth for cash, and they don’t know right from wrong and yet they expect their children to do things they don’t do themselves.”

She smiled as Gladys rubbed at her tummy. “It’s moving.” Aunt Sally clapped her hands and softly cheered, yea!

Aunt Sally continued, “If you want this child to love you and do what’s right, then you have to be a person of honor. Some parents live the most bat-brained lives and then take on something awful when their children are just like them.

You can’t plant rhubarb and expect to get peaches. We have to live an honest life in front of them and not just try to pull the wool over their eyes. We can’t be hypocrites. No wonder we are up to our ears in hornets. Our children no longer believe in us. Now as long as you honestly live a proper and true life in front of your child, he will respect you. Love, respect, honor and truth are some powerful ingredients for a good kid.”

Gladys helped Aunt Sally stack the dishes.

“The last thing you got to do is parent from within – not from without. Most parents want to make a fancy impression on their friends and look like the perfect parent. They put a lot of rules and regulations on their kids so they’ll look like they are doing their job. But the problem with that is it makes the parent as cold as kraut. They don’t develop a relationship with their child other than being a po-lice. They become tough as leather and unmovable and then the child don’t care a hate and before you know it the whole thing is full of turkey dreams.”

Aunt Sally washed while Gladys dried the dishes. The sun was peeking through the clouds and added a soft glow to the room. Gladys felt her body relaxing as she let the words and the atmosphere sink in.

“You listen to 'ol Aunt Sally. I raised 11 children and 8 of them are in the ministry. We have a wonderful family and I know what I’m talking about. What you got to do is go on and take the rag off. Stop pretending! Don't try to tell your child you are something that you aren't.

If you want your child to follow a rule or request or whatever, then it is your job to convince him it’s the right thing to do. If you can’t support it with good reasons, then maybe neither of you should be a-doing it. First tell him how you live it every day. Then why you do it that way. And help him pick up that notion and make it his. When he believes it with his whole heart, he’ll live it. You won’t have to have rules; he will naturally cling to it.

Gladys smiled as tears of joy trickled down her face. Aunt Sally put her arms around Gladys as she leaned on Aunt Sally’s shoulder. “That li’l old peach fuzzy will grow up just fine as long as you live by truth. The holy book says, “Know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

Gladys kept her head on Aunt Sally's shoulder as they prayed together. She patted her tummy and smiled. This baby will be fine as long as I have Aunt Sally.