Breakfast in Bed – A Mother's Day Story
The five DiNozzo kids make a Mother's Day breakfast in bed for their Ima. May 2023
"No, LJ! That's for Ima," Tali swatted at her little brother's hands in the bowl of Cheerios cereal. He put the handful that he grabbed into his mouth and grinned at his big sister.
Anthony was waiting for the toast to pop up. He had strawberry preserves to put on the toast. He checked again that the toaster was doing its thing.
Rivka and Beth were putting fruit pieces into another bowl for Ima. There were sliced strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, sliced bananas, and sliced peaches. They tried to use a serving spoon to move the fruit to Ima's bowl but had trouble getting pieces to stay on the spoon. Beth gave up and plucked pieces out of the containers with her fingers.
Rivka soon joined her sister in using hands; the two little girls ate almost as many pieces as they put into the bowl. They wiped their sticky hands on their pajamas afterward.
The toast finally popped up and Anthony put it on a plate to add the strawberry preserves. He got some on the counter as he worked to wipe the sweet spread on the bread.
Tali took out the vanilla yogurt from the refrigerator and spooned a big glop onto the fruit. Some of the yogurt spilled onto the counter. She tried to use the spoon to scoop up the spilled yogurt; instead it spread over more of the counter.
Anthony got the flowers that the five had picked from the yard into a bunch. Tali found a piece of ribbon in the junk drawer in the kitchen and tied the bunch together. She handed the bunch of flowers to LJ to carry in to Ima. Anthony had the plate of toast; the twins carried the bowl of fruit, a spoon, and a juice box. Tali carried the bowl of Cheerios and a cup of milk.
Asher followed the children to the master bedroom, tail wagging. Anthony knocked on the door.
"Happy Mother's Day, Ima," all five called out. They heard someone coming to the door.
Abba opened the door, while Ima sat on the bed. "What have we here?" Abba asked.
"Breakfast in bed for Ima," Tali replied. She walked over to her mother and handed her the bowl of cereal, and then the cup of milk. Anthony handed Ima the toast with strawberry preserves. Rivka presented the bowl of fruit as her twin, Beth, handed Ima the spoon and juice box. LJ toddled over last and handed the flowers to Ima with a big grin. Asher was with LJ and when Ziva reached to pet the dog, he licked her hand and then her face.
"Ima, you have to eat your breakfast in bed fast so you can make breakfast for us," Beth told her mother. "I'm hungry!"
Tony laughed at the mini-ninja; "I'll make breakfast today. Who wants pancakes?"
A chorus of "me, me" followed him to the door. Ziva sat back and watched her children follow their Abba to the kitchen. She poured the milk on the cereal and took a spoonful to eat. While not the breakfast she would have made for herself, the thought is what counted. She smiled in gratitude at the thoughtfulness of her offspring.
In the kitchen, Tony made chocolate chip pancakes for the five children, and then made a stack for his wife. He carried the plate to the master bedroom and handed it to Ziva along with a mug of her favorite tea. He locked his lips on hers.
"Happy Mother's Day, sweetcheeks! Enjoy your chocolate chip pancakes," he kissed her again and then handed her a fork. He was about to sit next to her on the bed when the kids called out to him.
"Abba, we want more pancakes!"
"So much for a little time for us," Ziva laughed. "You are being summoned by our hungry children; they get that from you, you know."
"And they all snore like their Ima," Tony joked back at her.
"And their Abba!" Ziva gave her husband a quick kiss before he headed back to the kitchen. She finished her breakfast while he made more pancakes for the kids.
Ziva got up to take the empty bowls, cups, plates, and flatware to the kitchen. She heard Tony talking with the kids in the dining room. It sounded as though they were making plans for dinner. She smiled.
The smile disappeared from her face when she looked around the kitchen; it seemed that hurricane DiNozzo had passed through! There were dishes, mixing bowls, pans, bits of food, and used paper towels on every counter, on the stove and in the sink.
Rivka came into the kitchen with her empty plate and spied her Ima. "Uh-oh!" she cried out. Tali came running in from the dining room with Tony right behind her.
"We'll clean it up, Zi! I promise," Tony looked sheepishly at his better half. "Happy Mother's Day, beautiful!" He led her to the dining room where a bouquet of two dozen roses and a pile of cards waited.
"Ima, open my card first," Beth hugged her mother. "We made them in preschool." She handed Ziva a card drawn on pink construction paper. Multi-colored tulip shapes were glued to the front. Inside Beth had printed her name.
"Toda," Ziva hugged her youngest daughter. She picked up the next card in the pile. It was drawn on light blue construction paper and had the multi-colored tulip shapes glued front and back. Inside, Rivka had printed her name and drawn a smiley face.
"Do you like it, Ima?" Rivka hugged her mother.
"Very much, yaldati!"
Anthony grinned as his mother picked up his card next. He drew a basketball on the front of the card and a basketball court on the back. Inside he had printed "Score a Happy Mother's Day! Love, Anthony"
"Toda, motek," Ziva hugged her older son. "I could tell this was from you right away!"
Tali's card had flower stickers on the front, and inside she drew a picture of the entire family, including the pets. She wrote: "To the best Ima in the world, with love from Tali."
Mother and daughter shared a hug; then Ziva picked up the next card. LJ had scribbled on a piece of white construction paper; two of his scribbles looked like smiling faces. Someone had helped him "write" his name on the inside.
"Toda, LJ; it is beautiful!" Ziva hugged her baby boy. He was sticky from his pancake syrup, but she didn't' care. He grinned at his Ima and put a sloppy kiss on her cheek.
The final card was from Tony; Ziva opened it and read the hand-written note that was inside. 'To the Ima of my children: without you, I would be nothing. Every one of these kids is a tribute to you. Ani ohev otach, Zi." She wiped a tear from her eye, "Toda, my love."
Tony leaned in and kissed his wife. "Thank YOU, Zi. I couldn't ask for a better mother for our children. Happy Mother's Day!"