It’s my grand daughter Bella’s
birthday today---eight
years old!
I remember going to the hospital
with Grandma Darlene and Grandpa Joe
and little Jake
to meet the new cute Newsted
lass.
She was indeed beautiful from that
first day,
with large brown eyes framed by long
lashes….
and a smile that lights up the
universe.
She loves to read, which thrills me.
I was there when she started to
sound out
those magically printed words,
and I still delight in having her read to me.
She called me a few weeks
ago,
and said that she wanted
to read a book to me over the phone,
because it was a part of her summer reading
project.
And she picked THE GIVING
TREE
by Shel Silverstein,
a book that I adore…
that in simple language
and sweet illustrations
presents unconditional love----
of the tree for “the boy”.
The tree gives all she has during the
boy’s life,
answering whatever need
he had at that time in his life.
Her branches provided recreational
swinging
And shade when he was young,
And apples when he was hungry,
and later in his life,
she gave him all her branches---
and even her trunk—
for his needs as he grew
older.
After each offering,
the boy goes away with pieces of the
tree,
and “the tree was happy”.
At the end, the “boy” is an old man,
who can no longer chew apples or swing on
branches.
He is so tired and
needs to rest…..
and the tree joyously offers what she
has left---
her stump—for him to sit upon—
“and the tree was happy”.
Bella’s sweet voice over the phone
reading these beloved words,
was sheer heaven to me,
and it will be one of my “moments”
for all eternity.
After I kept telling her
how much I loved the book
and she had finished reading,
I asked her why she picked this book.
She said that she remembered me saying
how much the book meant to me.
That would have been a year before,
when she was starting to first
read.
And I discovered that my daughter Niki
had given Jake and Bella that beloved
book.
“AND THE GRANDMA WAS HAPPY.”
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