A Day in the Life of Mama Rabbit
A Day in the Life of Mama Rabbit
Mama Rabbit (a wooden German figurine), also known as Anja, is an amazing woman. She works very hard for her family and wakes up at five o’clock each morning to prepare for her day. Since her baby daughter, Angelika, awakens around that time every day, Anja takes her to the market with her while she shops for her daily food supplies.
First, she gets dressed and dons on her red vest and white blouse. They match her ankle-length polka-dotted black and white skirt. She prepares the baby for the short trip and dresses her in warm clothing. Anja then places the baby girl inside her special stroller. Angelika loves going for rides inside the stroller and always claps her hands when she spots the little "car." After half and hour, the two of them are ready to leave. Mama Rabbit grabs her list of groceries and then wheels the stroller out of the door. The short trip to the market only takes her five minutes to walk.
When she arrives, she browses through the fruit and vegetable section and then proceeds to the rest of the store. She finishes her shopping within an hour and then hangs the bags on the end of the stroller, where her husband, Artur, built her a convenient hook to hang her things on. Five minutes later, she returns to her home and puts all the food away. Her husband is already outside, shoveling dirt in his garden while also eating breakfast, an apple, at the same time.
He is also a hard worker and rises in the morning to do his chores and work in his garden. After his garden work, he leaves for his work as a painter. He is a local artist and sells his paintings to all the tourists that come through the small town of Seiffen, Germany, where Anja and Artur live.
His paintings consist of local scenes and highlights: the Seiffen church, the buildings that are a part of the Seiffen toy museum, Seiffen sunsets, and the mountains. All the sights that he draws incite feelings of emotion and a longing to visit in the eyes of the viewers. His work is well-known in the area and many children even come to watch him paint.
After Anja finishes getting settled, she starts breakfast: eggs, bread with honey, some deli meats, and some cocoa. She spends about one full hour making breakfast for her five children: Hans, Jenell, Magda, Karl, and Lulu. They are healthy and growing kids who, as Mama Rabbit says, "need their daily nourishment." After breakfast, the children clean up the kitchen and gather their things to walk to school. As soon as they leave, Anja begins doing the laundry. There are five loads and considering the size of her family, that is understandable. By this time, it is about eleven o'clock in the morning. She begins dinner, first by baking the bread. Artur stops by the house at twelve noon and gives her a short break. He cares for baby Angelika during this time; meanwhile, Anja takes a brief nap.
At one o’clock Artur returns to work and Anja begins her work outside with the animals. The chickens are her responsibility and today, some eggs should be hatching. She slowly walks over to the chicken pen and peeks in. The eggs are cracked and she could see nine little chicks nestled beside their mother.
She walks over to them to inspect them. One lone chick ambles over to her and she cannot help but smile at the sight of new life and birth. After caring for the chickens, lambs, and goats, she walks back to her humble abode carrying her days supplies: milk and eggs. She starts dinner, sauerkraut and roast pork, along with some baked potatoes. The smells wafting from the kitchen greet the children and their father as soon as they walk in around four in the afternoon. They all sit down to eat and then, as always, clean up after themselves. After dinner the kids scramble for play time. Her two youngest children decide to entertain themselves with the see-saw outside. One of them almost falls off but quickly rights himself. Mama Rabbit has to always remind herself not to worry about them, that they would learn to be careful.
Her eldest boy takes his kite and goes outside to see how far it flies. He was different from the rest, preferring to play by himself. The other two girls always played indoors with their dolls.
After about an hour of playing, Anja calls her children in to do their homework. They all sit around the kitchen table with their books and paper and she stood nearby, always ready to help if needed. One by one the kids file to bed as they finish their homework gradually. Each one gives her a kiss on the cheek and a "Guten Nacht, Mama," right before they take the stairs to bed. Anja puts the baby to sleep and then waits for her husband. Exhausted, she climbs into bed and immediately falls asleep, knowing that in less than eight hours, her day would begin again.