Time: July 3, 11 p.m.
In the great, green room, there was a mother
and three small bikes
and three helmets
and red, white and blue pipe cleaners
and rolls of streamers
and blue painter's tape
and yards of red and white tulle
and a Target bag cut into strips
and the knowledge that gratitude from
a child is better when neither expected nor
demanded
and the confidence that each child will
feel (s)he decorated his own bike
and the wondering how many of these
small gifts her own mother gave, unnoticed.
Epilogue: The mother reads Judson's Story and feels, watching those sparkling eyes and then that tiny coffin through her tears, that each small opportunity to make a memory, to stay up past bedtime to produce morning delight, to give time and effort that for the time being will be taken for granted ... is a gift with no regrets.
Incidentally, the two girls won first place in the bike and trike divisions of the parade the following morning, much to my astonishment. I guess occasionally we reap a few temporal rewards as well.
6 comments:
Great post. Love Eliza's dress!
How did you make the photo montage?
What fun! I wanna move to your neighborhood!
Eliza looks ADORABLE!!!
The bikes look great - no wonder they won! Tim should get a prize too for the awesome shorts :-)
Steph, I used Picasa Upload to make the collage. Love it; it's insanely easy. I'll email you too in case you're not checking the comments!
I really like that photo collage. Did you use Picasa? Oh wait, just read your comment to Stephanie. Big hugs to the girls for winning first prize. . .LOVE the outfits! Oh to be a little girl again and wear dresses like that!
Post a Comment