29 July 2026, Freewriters Community Daily Writing Prompt Day 3179: I am not your mother
“So, help me out because I think I get it but not really,” ten-year-old Glendella Ludlow said to eleven-year-old Velma Trent. “Your mom and grandmoms are really good – I mean, as good as Good Grandma is to me, but Good Grandma isn't even my cousin except by marriage, really, and she is step-grandmother – the grandma who stepped up – to the rest of my adopted siblings. Is this whole thing about choices?”
“Absolutely,” Velma said. “Mom and Dad and our Stepforth grandparents all have divorces that they could have gotten lost in, but they kept showing up for us and that's part of why they realized being divorced was dumb. They chose to keep showing up and the rest took care of itself.”
“I need to talk to Good Grandma about this real quick – be right back,” Glendella said, and ran off to find Mrs. Thalia Ludlow, who was up to her elbows in sourdough.
“I will wash up and help you – and you know what, that answers the question I was going to ask,” Glendella said.
“Which was?” Mrs. Ludlow said before kissing Glendella on the forehead after she brought over the greased pans.
“Being a family is really about choices, like me choosing to help out when I see you are elbow-deep in the dough we all are going to eat,” Glendella said.
“Yes, that's it,” Mrs. Ludlow said. “We could buy sourdough, but I choose to make it sometimes because there is nothing better than fresh sourdough and I love y'all.”
“I never had a mother or grandmother love me before,” Glendella said, “and I appreciate you so much!”
“I love you too, Glendella,” Mrs. Ludlow said. “I am not your mother biologically, but, what else is new around here? I choose you as my eighth adopted child, and that makes me your mother in every legal and practical sense, so, now I gotta make three loaves and it's all good because you haven't had bread pudding made with sourdough leftovers, but, you will!”
“Do you have any biological grandchildren?” Glendella said.
“Yes, you have three older siblings and lots of nieces and nephews,” Mrs. Ludlow said. “My first husband died, but we had a wonderful family. We all need to get on Zoom so you can meet them – they are traveling, but we'll get caught up!”
Mrs. Ludlow and Glendella got the bread in the oven, and then Glendella went back to Velma.
“Yep,” she said. “It is all about choices.”
“Pretty much everything is after a certain age,” Velma said, “Don't rush getting to eleven or anything, because once you have two non-zero numbers in your double-digit life, people stop cutting you any slack.”