Tonight I did something I have never done before. Aidric was sleeping peacefully. Not fussing or crying, just sleeping like the baby that he is. Despite this I went into his room, picked him up, held him in my arms, and rocked him back and forth, back and forth. Just because I missed him. Just because I love him. Just because he's my baby.
My Grandma Rita used to read to me from this book and sing the words to the song that has famously captured the pages of this children's classic. I will forever treasure this book, just as I do the others that she read to me and the stories we made up together. I remember quite vividly a book with no words, only pictures, about how fairies helped Santa accomplish his duties on Christmas Eve. I remember her reading us the story of the Steadfast Tin Soldier and wanting to be brave and selfless and strong like him. I remember Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Grandma did great voices when she read. She made stories come alive. I could tell that she treasured books, because when she was finished reading one it would go into the chest that sat behind her rocking chair. It was filled with soft blankets and the books that she read to me. It was like the blankets were meant to cushion the books--like they were fragile treasures.
I wonder if I will ever be a grandmother. What books will my children grow to treasure? What books will my grandchildren enjoy? I hope that in a world with Facebook, Twitter, iPads, Wii, and PSP that authors will continue to produce rich, plush stories like the kind I enjoyed. I hope they grow to love reading.
Love,
Poppy's Mama
