treat her well

Dear World, 

I bequeath to you today one tiny little girl...in a crisp new dress...with two big, brown eyes....and a happy laugh that ripples all day long...and a flash of sunskissed brown hair that glitters in the sun when she runs. I trust you'll treat her well.

She's slipping out of the backyard of my heart this morning...and skipping off to her first day of school. And never again will she be completely mine. Prim and proud she'll wave her young and independent hand this morning and say "Good-bye" and walk with little girl steps to the classroom.

Now she'll learn to stand in lines...and wait for her name to be called. She'll learn to tune her ears for the sounds of school bells...and deadlines...and she'll learn to giggle...and gossip...and only pay attention when the teacher is watching. She'll learn how to feel hurt inside and she'll learn how not to cry.

No longer will she have time to sit in the backyard on a summer day and watch an ant scurry across a crack in the footpath. Nor will she have time to pop out of bed in the morning and lay on the couch engrossed in a much loved childhood show. No, now she'll have to worry about more important things...like grades and which 'cool' skirt to wear and which friends can play with her at recess. And the magic of books and learning will replace the magic of prams and dolls. And now she'll find new heroes.

For five full years now I've been her mentor and role model and pal and playmate and mother and friend. Now she'll learn to share her worship with her teachers, which is only right. But no longer will I be the smartest woman in the whole wide world.

Today when that school bell rings for the very first time...she'll learn what it means to be a member of the group...with all its privileges and its disadvantages too. She'll learn that in time proper young ladies do not laugh out loud...or kiss dogs...or keep bugs in jam jars in bedrooms...or even watch ants scurry across cracks in the footpath in the summer. Today she'll learn that all who smile at her are not her true friends. And I'll stand back and watch her start out the long, lonely journey to becoming a woman.

So, world, I bequeath to you today, one little girl...in a crisp new dress...with two big, brown eyes...and a flash of sunkissed brown hair that glitters in the sunlight when she runs........I trust you'll treat her well.