A woman. with long dirty blonde hair. Working long into the night providing for her family. She works tirelessly looking at Three computer screens branding her corneas with information. Her dark office in the corner of the 8th floor of the Toledo Edison building, usually the last one to leave and first to get there. She types for hours on the keyboard writing up thousands and thousands of words that makeup beautifully written paragraphs for a company where her job has been underpaid for the last 20 years. Another aspect of her life is fighting for the next generation of appraisers to have better pay so they can make a living on one job and not two. When her “Shift” is over she comes home to a loving son and two adorable kittens. Her son working to keep his gpa up and to keep the house clean. So when mom comes home she can just rest and have a clear mind til the next grand day of adding to the housing market of Southwest Michigan and Northwest Ohio.

The bus screeches to a halt, as I look out the cloudy window and see my lonely house. I rush up the aisle pushing through backpacks, legs, and 6th graders. I walk down the slippery steps of the bus out to the stop. I smell the intoxicating exhaust of the bus, my keys jingle in my hand as I walk to the front door through my yard. My feet shuffle through the long dry grass. The sound of the lawnmower repeats in my head as I think of all the chores I must do. My internal checklist starts going off do the cats need to be fed, does the trashcan need to be brought up the driveway, and are the dishes washed. I insert my key into the lock and quickly drop my backpack off and rush out the door before Nike has a chance to sneak out the front door to the outside world. To do my job for the house.

My keys represent all of the hard work we (my mom and I) have put into buying our house and finally move out of our apartment. For my whole life we have rented and all of our services were taken care of such as the lawn, repairs, and trash disposal. When we moved into our house I awoke to a rude awakening about all the work that homeowners go into upkeep their homes. My keys which I carry with me anywhere I go give me a constant reminder of all my obligations to myself and my mom to my part. Each time I get off the bus or out of my car I can feel them jingle in my pocket, my keys make me think of all the work I must do to keep the home in working order. Each time before I leave the house to go do something fun I have to double check myself to make sure I did not miss out on doing a chore that my mom will do when she gets home. I hate when I come home and find out my mom was forced to do something that I forgot to do such as cat litter and trash it makes me feel so bad. My mom works so hard to pay all of our bills on time and pay for most of my free time. When I was younger I was not able to help her so now it is my time to stand up and do my part so my mom does not have to.

My keys have opened my mind and shrunk my free time. A couple years ago I was  able to go home to our apartment and watch the landscapers mow the lawn but now that we have moved into a house I mow the lawn and do all the little things. I have learned that I must do my part so when my mom gets home from her long day at work she can just rest and not have to worry about doing more. I must be the rock in my family and keep the house stable.  My mom has worked her whole life when I was not able to help her and now it is my time to which the roles and do my part. Everyday when I come home from school or practice I have many tasks that I must fulfill and I am happy to do it. I love when my mom comes home and it able to just sit on the couch after her long day. It makes my day when I come home to find out that my mom did not have to do anything when she walked through the door and was able to do what she wanted like watching tv. When I do a great job and keep up a streak I get a little reward most of the time like money. To end it all up my keys symbolize all of the hard work we have done all of my life, and all the work I will do in the future to keep my mom stable and to be the sideman that does all of the dirty work for the maestro.