1 Mother 2 Another

Last night I taught until just after the
girls’ bedtime, and when I came home I immediately headed
upstairs for a last-minute snuggle, as is my habit. The girls read
books and say prayers with a grown-up, then are allowed a bit of
time by themselves with the light on to read some more or do
crosswords or puzzle books. Well, traditionally Maddie would read
and Cora, not yet a reader, would do some sort of maze book or
color.


But recently Cora’s been reading and I’ll occasionally
come in to snuggle her and find her working her way through a book.
Last night, I happened upon my daughter reading Shel
Silverstein’s The Giving Tree.


Now, this is one of my favorite books, and I can’t get
through it now that I’m a mom without weeping. So to see my
daughter reading it aloud to herself – well, you can
imagine.

I snuggled in bed with her and let her
finish reading the book to me, and there may or may not have been
some wet spots on my pillow when she was finished. “Well, an
old stump is good for sitting on,” Cora read, looking at me
and smilling.


I nodded.


Cora finished the book, handed it to me with a grin, and said,
“That’s a really good book.”


And the tree was happy.