The Wonder of Girls

Hallmark Cards, Inc.

A little booklet of poems from Hallmark Cards is another memory from my childhood.  Today, on Mother’s Day and my oldest child’s college graduation, one poem impresses me in particular. 

      

 Invitation Accepted

Laura and her Mom

          She stands by me

         this child of three,

          Holding out

         a picture book;

          Her eyes in upward

          pleading look.

          I think of pressing

          tasks of day,

          Of waiting things

         of near demand,

          Yet swiftly reach

          for her small hand,

          And go with her

          to Fairyland

     -Katherine Edelman

Fortunately, I can read this poem today with no regrets.  As a child of three, my own mother always took the time to read to me.  This is why today, I can look at books I still own from my childhood and remember so clearly every picture on every page.  The hours spent looking at the pages while they were read to me have ingrained the drawings in my mind.   

What is ingrained in my heart, though, is the idea that someone cared enough to pause their busy day to sit next to me and read.  

As my daughter graduates from college, I’m confident that she has had this same feeling.  Housework always needed attention, but not at the expense of showing a little girl that she is treasured above all else.  I can think of little else that expresses this to a child better than reading books with them!