Tuesday, June 1, 2010

My baby

Tonight as my youngest graduated,  I was so so aware of how very fast our days have gone by and how far we have come together as a family.  I was especially thinking though of K and her triumphant spirit. 

Very shortly after she came to live with me when she was 7 years old, K came home with an essay about me.  It was a very generous gift to her new mom.  It is one of my great treasures, and I just had to share some of the cute things she wrote.

I love my mom’s voice.  Her voice is sweet like honey in your mouth, calm like water in the sea, low and special. Her voice is mad and roaring like a lion when I am in trouble. Her eyes are brindled and sparkling like the stars in the sky at night, shining in the darkness. Her hair is long all the way down to her neck. It is curly as curly Q’s. She has lips as thin as a pencil lead and happy as day. She has skin white as a peach. Her legs are thin as pens and pencils and long as my arms.  Her smile is rose as a ton of roses in a field and sweet as sugar. Her face is  as ordinary as ordinary could be and loving as her heart.

Even though we sometimes come across boring agendas where I sometimes fall asleep. Still she takes time for me and my sister. I never have to worry about what I do in the coming week because she has it all planned out and worked out that’s why she is special to me. You can never hardly find a mother as intelligent as she is. I love her. I will never forget her. Not even when she dies.

She may go on to become a prolific novelist or dynamic educator, but I will always contend that this is one of her best pieces of work.  It cracks me up every time I read it, and then it makes me weepy at her sweet innocence, and the generosity of spirit of a little girl who took me straight into her heart even as her heart was broken and sad for her other mom.  I am grateful . 

7 comments:

donna said...

Sue, Sue....Kendra's essay made me laugh and cry. Hard to believe such a young girl wrote it. I'd keep the original in a safe deposit box and keep a copy at home. It's just that precious.

I'd didn't know that you ever had long, curly (curly Qs) hair and didn't realize that your arms and legs were as thin as pencils. lol

donna

Anonymous said...

I got weepy reading this just now! I hope you're feeling well today. Carrie

Beth Akins said...

That is just the sweetest thing. A life-long treasure to return to time and time again. If ever you need a boost, surely that will do it.
Time does go by incredibly fast.
You are just the best and so is Kendra for seeing all of that, too. Ain't love grand?

Anonymous said...

Sue - I remember you reading this to me after she wrote it - it is more precious now than then and, it is as true now as then...there hardly IS a mother as intelligent as you...even though you roar like a lion sometimes! :) You are so fortunate to be able to experience her life and witness her having developed into such a lovely young woman...
Sandy

lindalou said...

How lucky you are to have something so wonderful written about you. It's so simple and yet, so much more.

Sounds like you both have been very lucky to have found each other.

carla rothberg said...

this is so beautiful. what a gift to have such incredible words written about you. it seems like you and K have given each other many gifts. thank you for sharing this.

scrapwordsmom said...

She is just beautiful!!!!