LOVE IS

 

There are man things to love about love one is how it follows no set pattern…no rules…no norms…another is how it can pop up all around us in many sizes…shapes and forms.

We spotted this older couple (let me digress a moment to discuss…when I say older couple what I mean is a couple who’s older than us).

Anyway, we spotted this older couple…we’ve never seen them here before…as they exited their car to take a morning walk along the shore.

As I say…they were a little older and what made matters even worse…to get down to the shore…there is a little ridge they must traverse.

But we found we needn’t worry…this ridge…they had an answer for…he held her hands to steady her…until her feet were safely planted on the shore.

And still holding on to his hands…even though she was quite small…she helped him down the ridge…making sure he didn’t fall.

Then off they walked together…down the beach…along the sand…walking toward the sunrise…stride for stride…and hand in hand.

This is just what I was talking about…exactly what I was thinking of…as what we witnessed on the beach were two simple acts of love.

The first is how love helps love…as we realized when their scaling was done…their task was made less difficult…with two…instead of one.

And the second…as we watched them walk along silhouetted in the morning glow…

the second is my favorite…

how love means…

never letting go.

IT'S ALL DIRT TO ME

It seems to me there are two types of people in the world…at least as far as I can see…there are those people who drink coffee…then there’s people who don’t…like Deborah and me.

When we mention to our friends we don’t drink coffee…they act like we have fleas…treating us as if we’e serial killers…or have some strange disease.

“You don’t drink coffee.” They shake their heads…oh they’re polite to us…but then…once the meals finished…we’re never asked back again.

What is it with you coffee drinkers and your love of the coffee bean?

Why do you put up with the absence of flavor…just to soak up some caffeine?

Oh, you’ll add some sugar, milk or cream…to get the flavor that you seek…but then your cup of coffee has enough calories for a week!

Some of you drink de-caf…you like the coffee flavor but think caffein’s too strong…well let me state now…for the record…I’m sorry…that’s just wrong.

Some of you love Starbucks…pardon me here for being curt…but why pay one weeks salary for a drink that’s just sweet dirt.

Our friends say there are many ways to drink coffee…they say…come on and try a swig…we say you can dress a pig in an evening gown…but in the end…it’s still a pig.

We’ll never stop you from drinking your coffee…never ask your intake to decrease…but…please…don’t make us drink that stuff…let us live our life in peace.

And stop acting like it’s Deborah and I who are crazy…like were’e the ones afflicted…when it’s quite obvious by your behavior that it is you who are addicted.

One day we hope you’ll finish your 12 step program and your teeth will be stain free…then…when you have friends over for dinner…don’t forget to invite Deborah and me.

Until that day when there’s finally no more sign of caffeine in you blood…think about this…why is that stuff you drink…is also known as mud?

DISCLAIMER:

DEAR COFFEE DRINKERS:

Although Jim has a right to his opinion…his views we will not defend…for we believe without coffee and coffee drinkers…the world as we know it…would end.

So please don’t listen to his rantings…keep drinking your coffee…never feel blue…

and we apologize for any discomfort his poem may have cause in you.

Your friends at Starbucks.

 

A FAMILY BLESSING

 

It is tradition in their family…going back centuries it is said…when a bay’s born the oldest member lays a hand upon its head…

Everyone in attendance bows respectfully…some may wipe away a tear…for they’re about to hear this blessing that’s been handed down throughout the years:

From the moment you are born…the moment when your life starts…may love and hope and kindness fill your soul and touch your heart.

May you be accepting of the world around you…may you treat everyone the same…may your life be filled with magic…until the owl calls out your name.

May you understand how everyone is family…how all lives are intertwined…may your light be so luminous and bright…it helps everyone to shine.

May you live in a world with no wars…where everyone is free…where people work together for peace and harmony.

May you live in a world where thank you is understood but need not be declared…a world where everything belongs to everyone…a world where everything is shared.

May you understand the importance of nature in all you say and do…for without the trees…the animals…the water…there would be no me…and there would be no you.

This blessing we send to you this day…as your life’s about to start…with the hope these words find their way into your soul…and dwell within your heart,.

And may you be blessed to turn these words into actions…so those who know you will one day happily exclaim…

you lived a kind and thoughtful and generous life 

from the time you were born…

until the owl called out your name.

HAPPY BELATED DAUGHTERS DAY

 

Time is a funny thing…in one direction does it flow…

yet sometimes it seems to move too fast…other times too slow.

Moments come and moments go…but moments do not last.

Thank goodness we have memories to hold on to moments that have past.

But memory is also a funny thing for is it not our memories of moments from our past…when we group them all together that seem to make time move so fast.

I remember when our daughter was born…how that moment changed my life…with style

I remember her first steps…her first words…I remember her first smile.

I remember her first day of school…by then she’d come so far…

I remember teaching her to ride a bike…then how to drive a car.

I remember the birth of her first child…our first grandchild…I hadn’t felt that way before…I remember feeling that way again and again and again…you see she had three more.

I remember when she became a teacher…I remember shedding a few tears…I remember thinking, “That’s appropriate…she’s been teaching me for years.”

I remember being proud of her…from those first steps that eventful day…

and proud of every step she’s taken in her life along the way.

And I will proudly stand beside her…through her good and bad times too…

because I am proud that she’s my daughter…and that’s what Daddies do.

And Daddies also know for good things…you often have to wait….which is why this Happy Daughter’s day poem…is arriving two days late.

ONE MORE DAY

The young couple was engaged to be married…and though they hadn’t set a date…their families came together to rejoice and to celebrate.

And celebrate they did with food and wine and song…toasts were made to the couple…that their life be happy, successful and long.

That their life be one of hopes and dreams fulfilled…of wonder and surprise…their mothers were so happy…tears fell from their eyes.

Their fathers were busy shaking hands and doing what fathers do…but…if you took the time to notice…their were tears in their eyes too.

As I watched the celebration…watched the festivities unfold that day…

If I was to give them some advice…this is what I’d say.

As you spend your life together…whatever happens…come what may…before you close your eyes each night…may you wish for one more day.

One more day to love…to laugh…to count the stars up in the sky…one more day to make mistakes…to apologize…to cry.

One more day to face the world united…to endure the fairest and foulest weather…one more day of life…one more day to be together.

It’s such a wonderful feeling when you open your eyes once the night is through…to look at one another and know another wish came true.

This would be advice…yes…this is what I’d say…

I’d wish you a wonderful life together…filled with a multitude of one more days.

For all we really have are moments together…moments when we laugh and love and play…

And the best any of us can hope for…is one more moment…one more day.

 

LETTING MY CHILD OUT

 

I love knowing no matter how old I grow…no matter how many days I rise…there is still a child inside me…a child who never dies.

A child I feel blessed never to be without…and some mornings on my walk…I like to let that child out.

Although he walks the same route I walk it should come as no surprise…I see the world quite differently…when I look through my child’s eyes.

I find I walk a little slower…sometimes I zigzag across the street…I tend to touch more clouds and count more stars when I walk with my child’s feet.

Instead of passing by and nodding at the mockingbird as she sings her morning song…the child in me stops to listen and, with her permission, sing along.

The child in me stops to talk to rabbits…sends messages on the breeze…dances in the moonlight and plays with shadows in the trees.

The adult in me enjoys my walk at the beginning of every day…but he tends to walk more for exercise…while my child tends to play.

Which means I walk a little slower enjoying more of the world that surrounds me…constantly attracted to all the sights and sounds and goings on around me.

When I let him out…I’m always glad I did…and no longer do I find it shocking…how wonderfully different my morning becomes..when I let my child do the walking.

And it never fails when I turn for home and my child’s walk comes to and end…I find myself hoping….tomorrow…I’ll let him out again.

RAINBOWS

 There will be moments of sorrow in our life…down whatever path we choose…moments when we fail…moments when we lose.

This fog of sorrow can descend unexpectedly…anytime…night or day…moments we are hurt…moments someone we love has passed away.

This fog of sorrow is usually accompanied by moments of uncertainty…moments filled with indecision and fears…our heart and soul feel empty while our eyes are filled with tears.

The fog of sorrow often changes us…we are lost…we wonder if and when…this new person we’ve become…will ever be happy again.

But rays of happiness wait quietly behind the sorrow…patiently behind the tears…and in the end shine through our tears and make our fog of sorrow disappear.

For when we allow happiness to shine through the tears that fill our eyes…we see before us a rainbow…stretching across our sky.

And in that rainbow we find our hope…knowing it won’t be an easy ride…

but ready to climb out of the fog…to see what’s on the other side.

Perhaps that’s why we love rainbows….for they remind us when we’re feeling our worst…they dwell within our tears…waiting to be dispersed.

TOOK MY BREATH AWAY

 

The moon was still shining bright and…as the sun rose…they began to play…and I felt blessed I was there to witness the birth of a new day.

Last nights rain clouds, now empty, still lingered in the sky…as pelicans and ibises and starlings sailed by.

The moon began to dim…her nightly job she knew was done…as she happily relinquished the day to her partner and good friend…the sun.

It’s as if the moon had turned around…in search of her next night…bidding a fond farewell to the clouds and their canvases of white.

The clouds, for their part, were happy to join in on the fun…they stood tall and proud and ready…to be painted by the sun.

The sky…only a moment ago infused in an ebony black hue…began her metamorphosis into a cerulean sky blue.

With the blue sky as her backdrop…the sun without constraints and with a brush on every ray of light…she began to paint.

She painted fast and furiously…each cloud constantly changing like the colors of a flame…and I thought…how amazing she’s been painting since the dawn of time…yet no two paintings are the same.

Her paintings are ephemeral…at the beginning of each day…and each new brush stroke…each new painting…took my breath away.

I became aware of the silence…how all the noise around me suddenly decreased…

and at how the morning breeze…in that same moment…suddenly had ceased…

And it occurred to me the Earth was also watching the birth of a new day….

and just like me…the wonders she was witnessing…took her breath away.

THE KEY TO SUCCESS

 

Her quest was not an easy one...to find the meaning of success

with a host of competing answers in books..TV…the press.

She searched the whole world over…looking for that one trait to possess...

realizing most of the time…the key…is anybody’s guess.

But as she grew a little older…she became a little wiser too…

and as for the secret to success…she began to gather clues…

She found most of her clues…after a person’s life had ended…

In the most unlikely of places…at the funerals she's attended.

If you ask her now…she’ll happily tell you the blueprint for success…

has nothing at all to do with the things…the materials we possess.

The answer for her is simple…she’ll say…the key is to be kind

because success can best be measured by the smiles we leave behind.. 

WORLD GRATITUDE DAY

 Today is World Gratitude Day…so…as you head out of your door…remind yourself of all the things in your life…you are grateful for.

Those moments or things that bring a smile to your face…that keep you grounded…and tender-hearted…and as my thanks for anyone who reads this…I’ll use this poem to get you started…

I am grateful for the big things that bring happiness and purpose and meaning to my life…to my friends…my family…my children…my grandchildren…and my wife.

I am grateful I have enough clothes to keep me warm and food to keep me fed…that I have a house…a car…and every night a comfortable place to lay my head.

On my early morning walks I am grateful for all the big things that I see…the moon…the stars…the ocean…every cloud and every tree.

I am grateful to the Earth and all that she is giving…from the beauty she surrounds me with…to the air that keeps me living.

I am also grateful for all the little things that come along…that catch my eye…a loving smile…an act of kindness…a singing bird…a butterfly.

A ladybug that lands upon my finger…the crickets lightly serenade…the aroma of cookies baking in the oven…any cookie..as long as they’re homemade.

I hope you find the time to be grateful for all the things in your life…big and small…and that, when today is over, you realize you haven’t thanked them all…

But do not be discouraged if you haven’t been grateful for everything on your list…because tomorrow you can be grateful for all those things you missed.

And if you begin each tomorrow being grateful…then each day you feel renewed…and every day…not just today…becomes a day of gratitude.

ACORNS IN THE SNOW

 Since we were created as part of nature…part of her trees…her mountains…her brooks…it’s no wonder we find comparisons to nature…everywhere we look.

For instance…I often think how we, as babies, are similar to acorns in the snow…how we’re both created in innocence…how there’s so much we don’t know.

How we look to our parents to help us with our daily climb…while the acorn looks to Mother Nature with the help of Father Time.

How we look to our family for guidance…for support…to teach to explain…to coax…while the acorn looks to its family comfortably nestled among the oaks.

How we both start out so tiny…so fragile…a diminutiveness that, at first, hides…to the innocent observer…the potential housed inside.

Yes, how often I have thought we, as babies, are similar to acorns in the snow…and how we both need warmth and nurturing if we ever are to grow.

Which is why I pray all parents learn from nature and understand how strong…how solid…how tall that tree will grow…

depends on how they care for…

that acorn in the snow.

TO SLEEP...PERCHANCE

 

They finished reading their bedtime story…she finished praying the Lord her soul would keep…as her mother tucked her in she asked, “Momma, why do we sleep?”

“And while we’re on the subject,” she said, her eyes now open and bright, “how did it come to be…we only sleep at night?”

Of course she knew the scientific answer…of which she could easily relate…but gazing into her chid’s eyes she thought…for now…science could wait.

“We are given many gifts when we’re created.” She said. “to use anyway we deem…but one of our greatest gifts…I believe…is our ability to dream.”

“I believe our dreams are important…their meaning so profound…so deep…and I believe our greatest dreams appear before us as we sleep.”

“And it is only after the sun goes down…of this I have no doubt…only in the the dark of night…that our dreams…like stars…come out.

“So you see the night is made not just for sleeping…it is for dreaming too…so tomorrow when you wake up…you can begin to make those dreams come true.”

“And if tomorrow a dream comes true…how wonderful….if not…her mother beamed…why that’s why we have the next night…for another chance to dream.”

“And have all your dreams come true Momma?” Her daughter asked…as into sleep she slid….Her mother kissed her on the forehead smiling…

“I know of one that did.”

WE ARE NOT SO DIFFERENT

 

When one looks closely at a butterfly…it is difficult to dismiss….

the beauty it acquires through it’s metamorphosis…

To marvel at the changes made since the moment of its creation

How every stage is vital…to the butterfly’s transformation.

When one looks at human beings…it is difficult to dismiss

the beauty we acquire through our metamorphosis

To marvel at the changes made since the moment of our creation

How every stage is vital to our ultimate transformation.

When one thinks of all the changes…

It takes for both of us to fly…

we find we are not so different…

we humans and butterflies.

THE EVOLUTION OF A FRIEND

 

Of all the tales ever told…of all the stories ever penned…there is never one more beautiful than the evolution of a friend.

A little over a year ago on my morning walk…in the dark…under the stars…I noticed the same man passing me every day…down Main Street…in his car.

After noticing this daily pattern…this quirk of fate…this act of God…one day…at the moment our two paths crossed…we both began to nod.

After nodding to each other for a while…I imagine we both felt a little brave…as the next stage of our friendship became a smile and a wave.

A smile and a wave turned into a quick greeting, “Good morning.” He would say.  “Good morning.” I would answer just before he drove away.

Yesterday to my surprise and totally initiated by him…he stopped to introduce himself…His name’s Bob…of course I’m JIm.

This morning as he passed I watched our friendship breaking through.

“Good morning, Jim.” He said, “Have a good day.” 

“Good morning, Bob. You too.”

This might be the extent of our friendship…as each day on Earth we keep revolving…but then again…you never know…as you can see…

our friendship is evolving.

GRANDMA'S RECIPES

 

They’ve all saved Grandma’s recipes…some they know by heart…many in a copy of the book she wrote them in…for it is often amidst her recipes…where memories of her begin.

Whenever they read her handwriting…sort through her ingredients…turn on a mixer…pick up a knife…whenever they bake what Grandma baked…it brings her back to life.

For it is surrounded by Grandma’s recipes…

where aromas of her are strongest…

Where, when they close their eyes and smile,

her memories linger longest 

NEVER MEANT TO BE TOGETHER

 

They were never meant to be together

She was much too short…and he was much too tall

He loved the silence…

She loved a tune 

He was always chasing sunsets

She was following the moon.

But she began to to enjoy his silence

he…to appreciate her tunes

and they began chasing sunsets together

then together following the moon…

And suddenly she didn’t seem as short…

and he didn’t seem as tall

I wonder if, perhaps, they were meant to be together after all

THE MEANING OF LIFE

 

If you ask any wise one…anywhere…anytime..the meaning of life…

they’ll smile…then happily exclaim:

“The meaning of life is to give meaning to life.”

It’s amazing how all their answers start out the same.

From here their answers vary…but please…have no doubts…no misgivings…they only vary slightly…because of the varied lives they are living.

“I’ve lived…I’ve loved…I’ve won…I’ve lost…I’ve dreamed…I’ve laughed…I’ve cried…I’ve hated…I’ve fought…I’ve been disgraced…I’ve been filled with remorse and with pride.”

“I’ve trusted…I’ve hurt…I’ve been hurt…I’ve made mistakes…I imagine there are times my heart and soul agree…I have not always been the person I imagine myself to be.”

“Yet, through my highs and lows…my ups and downs…I have somehow found a way…to learn from every one of them…to learn a little more each day.”

It is here they always conclude their lesson…it seems to this theme they all keep returning…they say: “The meaning of life is to give meaning to life and to do this…you never stop learning.”

Yes, if you ask any wise one…anywhere…anytime…the meaning of life they’ll explain…how their stories may vary in the middle…but they start out and end up the same.

THANKS COACH!

 

Whenever I make a mistake my mind drifts to my little league coach back when I played the game…I’m sorry to say as the years have passed I have forgotten his name.

You see I loved the game of baseball…loved its glamour…it’s appeal…unfortunately my ability to play the game would never match my zeal.

If I missed a catch that somehow found its way to me…exiled in the right field clover…my coach would smile then patiently say, “Nice try, Jim….I think you need a do over”.

When I’d swing and miss…which unfortunately I did an exorbitant amount…coach gave me so many do overs I’m sure even he lost count.

Who would’ve thought my do overs would have given me a modicum of fame…but that’s precisely what happened as ‘Do Over’ became my name.

“Do Over, you’re up.”

“Do Over, nice try.”

“Do Over, throw me the ball.”

I’d even hear, “Hi Do Over.” In school…as I was walking down the hall.

On our jerseys, as a surprise, coach had our names emblazoned on the back…but when I looked at mine I was crestfallen…as I read Doover all in black.

How could this have happened…Coach said he hadn’t a clue…but, looking back, it seems appropriate my jersey was a do over too.

I put it on reluctantly…unable to think of an escape maneuver…and for the rest of my short-lived baseball career…my new nickname was Doover.

But I came to love that jersey…in it I found both glamour…and appeal…and I think I learned more from that jersey…than my time spent on the field.

I learned to view the world through imperfect but patient eyes…I learned everyone deserves a break…I learned to give people another chance…whenever they make mistakes.

Eventually my mom threw out my old jersey…years of wear and tear taking its toll…but I didn’t mind because by then…Doover was emblazoned on my soul.

Through teaching, marriage, fatherhood, friendships this Doover thread has spun…because we never know, when we fail, if the next do over is the One.

It’s funny how initially I thought Doover would lead to my demise…but in the end…it is Doover that saved me…

So…thanks coach…I may not remember your name…but I’ll never forget the name you gave me.

NOT AROUND

 

Today we commemorate 9/11…we remember the moment our world turned grey…it’s our annual reminder…of everyone and everything we lost that tragic…fateful day.

There have been 20 years of children born Sind 9/11…an entire generation not around…not around the day those lives were lost…not around the day our world came tumbling down.

Not around to remember how beautifully that day began…not around to tell…

how that beauty would change forever…the day the towers fell.

Not around to see people jumping out of windows…frightened women…frightened men…not around to remember telephone calls to loved ones…they’d never see again.

Not around to see the population of a city swallowed in debris…

Not around to see our country’s courage…our resiliency. 

Not around to know of the heroes…for there were heroes everywhere

They were on the ground beside us…they were flying in the air.

Not around to understand what was in each person’s heart and soul…

In a plane when they decide to fight…when they uttered the words, “Let’s roll.”

Not around to see the carnage…smell the smoke…or here the din…

Not around to see people running out of doors while police and firefighters were running in.

That’s why we commemorate that day…

why we remind ourselves of the panic…the anger…the destructive power of a jet…

So those not around back then will long remember…

a day the rest of us cannot forget.

YESTERDAY TO DAY TOMORROW

 

We are meant to learn from our failures and our successes…

from those who guide us…and those who lead us astray…

for that is the wonder of the past…

that is the beauty of yesterday.

And we are meant to take what we learned yesterday…

to help us develop our own perspective…to help us find our way…

for that is the wonder of the present…

that is the beauty today.

But…if we haven’t found our way yet…

If our path leads to sadness…pain…or sorrow

Ah….that is the wonder of what our future if for…

that is the beauty of tomorrow.

I WANT TO WRITE A LOVE POEM

 

A poet who was famous for his love poems was approached by a young boy who shyly bowed his head…

“I want to write a love poem…can you teach me how?” He said.

The old poet smiled. 

“So you have come to me because you know how love and poetry are intertwined…and I’m guessing there is a special someone for this poem you have in mind.”

A nervous smile crossed the young boy’s face at these words the poet said.

He looked up and the old poet could see his cheeks were glowing red.

The old poet smiled again.

“My best advice is don’t start out to write a love poem…you see it doesn’t work that way…start our writing about this person…and love will find a way.”

“Take pencil in hand…and think about this person…soon you’ll find it so exciting…

How the words will travel from your heart to your brain and end up in your writing.”

“And your poem may rhyme…or it may not…it does’t matter for in time you’ll see…anything written from your heart…why…that is poetry.”

“And you’ll feel such a sense of accomplishment when your poem is done…

That it won’t matter if it finds its way to a million people…or if it reaches only one.

“And once you’ve written your first love poem…once you see it completed there…

You’ll want to write another and another…because you’ll start to see love everywhere.”

“You’ll see it in your family…you friends…your pets, the Earth…your home…just remember, if you’re writing from your heart…you’ll end up with a poem.

“And finally remember you are human…sometimes you’ll end up with the perfect poem…a poem you will adore…other times you’ll realize…that’s what they make erasers for.”

“So if you want to write that love poem, take this pencil and this pad of paper too…

I have told you how to start…the rest is up to you.”

TIME

 

Time is a fascinating concept…how often she has us worried or perplexed…as we wonder how something as simple as time…ends up being so complex.

We know our time upon this Earth had a definite beginning and will have a definite end…as we live we discover she can be our enemy…and she can be our friend.

We are born without the concept of time…it is nowhere in our head…we only think about being warm…and held…and we think about being fed.

Then, one day we become aware of time and the trouble she can create…most likely it was the first time our parents told us we’d have to wait.

We spent much of our childhood and youth realizing time is something we will never master…always wishing to be a little older…that time would move a little faster.

Once we grow a little older and our concept of time is stronger…we have beautiful moments where we wish time would slow down and let them last a little longer.

And we have moments of great sadness when our world has turned to grey…when we wish time could speed up and as she does…whisk our sorrow away.

In fact, it seems we have this running feud with time the older and older we grow…sometimes wishing she’d move fast…other times praying she’ll go slow.

I imagine time is up there smiling each time we ask her to fulfill our needs…for she knows, no matter what we ask, she moves at but one speed.

Then one day we reach an age where time is no longer as important…where it no longer controls our head…where, once again, we’re happy just being warm and held…and fed.

A point in life when time slows down…and we are thankful…we are glad…

just to sit, 

look back, 

and smile…

at all the wonderful times we’ve had.

CANDLES OF LOVE

 

Our candles of love burn softly…yet our whole world they can illuminate,

but our candles of love are fragile…they can be blown out by the winds of hate.

When our candles of love are extinguished…when they surrender their last spark,

with no more light of love to guide us…we are forsaken to live in the dark.

If we don’t want to dwell in darkness…then we must not succumb to hate.

We must share our candles of love with each other…before it is too late.

We must abolish hate wherever we can…it must be eliminated…thrown out

lest we find ourselves in eternal darkness…when that last candle has burned out.

It’s easy for our candles of love to burn…those times I agree with you and you agree with me…

and though it can be difficult it is also vital we keep our candles burning…those times we disagree.

We are not naive enough to think disagreements will ever go away,

but we are hopeful enough to think compassion, acceptance, reason and love…will, in the end, rule the day.

For compassion, acceptance, reason and love are what keep our candles aglow

in the midst of disagreements…when the winds of hate will blow.

So we will stand up against anyone who advocates hate…with our candles burning bright…

because when it comes to how we want to live…we much prefer the light.

For we know it is much easier to walk with confidence…even when our candles of love are small…

Whereas if we choose to walk in darkness…we know that we will fall.

NATIONAL READ A BOOK DAY

 One of the many things I love about working in a bookstore is how, every now and then, the magic of the store unwraps…Like the other day when a mother sat in our big chair reading a book…with her daughter seated on her lap.

It reminded me of when I was a little boy sitting atop my mother’s knee…and how the world became a magical place…when she would read to me.

I smiled thinking how, like me, this girl is in for a wild ride…just because of the time her mother took…to introduce her to the wonders…inside the pages of a book.

She’ll learn how a mouse can run up and down a clock…she’ll meet a storyteller named Mother Goose…she’ll learn how a cow can jump over the moon…and what to do with three mice on the loose.

She’ll learn about three pigs…their houses…about some scary brothers Grimm…she’ll learn about a boy who kept crying wolf…and all the trouble that followed him.

She’ll learn a monkey can be curious…how our need for heroes will never end…she’ll learn to say good night to the moon…and how a spider and a pig can be friends.

And the day will come when from her mother’s knee…it will be time to say goodbye…The day she’ll take what her mother has taught her…flap her own wings…and fly.

I imagine every time she opens a book…opens to its wonder, its laughter…its mystery…she’ll smile remembering where it all began…atop her mother’s knee.

So on this day and every day remember…its never too late to start reading…

for inside each book a magical world awaits…

and herein lies the beauty of reading a book…

because…it’s also never too late.