Love Letters and Children’s Stories
May 23, 2009
This morning, in the throes of throwing out and packing up, I found a packet of love letters to and from exman. I had them in the car from when I found them at my parent’s house. At that time, just a few months ago, I figured that at some point I would want to read them, or that they were an important archaeological part of my past that had to be preserved. But today when I saw them I opened one card that I had sent to him and just seeing that I wrote the word “kisses” to him turned my stomach. Without further ado, I dumped the whole packet in the dumpster. There is nothing to see there, there is nothing to recount or relive. Garbage, it’s all garbage. Harsh? Perhaps. But why excavate to the good when the bad has poisoned it all. Why think back when I need to look ahead.
In that same bag, though, I did find two children’s stories that I wrote in 1992, when my eighteen-year old was one. Of course, they were rejected by publishers, but, of course, I think they were wrong. At the time of writing, I thought that it was a fun, educational book teaching the very young about sounds and the fun of words. Enjoy one part of my past that I am pleased with.
Down Went the Spoon, by Laura G.
Down went the spoon
with a great, big boom!
and SPATTER
went
the pancake batter.
Down went the cup
(certainly not up)
and out spilled the water
to make a new brook.
Down went my cookie
all ready to munch
well, it broke into pieces
and now is a bunch.
Down went the soap
right into the sink
where it started to slide
so my eyes I did shut
to suppose a round rink.
Down went the coins
I saved for a week
why, they started to scatter
and play hide and seek!
Down went the feather
I found on a bench,
it floated so slowly
I thought I’d have lunch.
Down went the ball
which bounced up and down
then rolled out the hall
and rolled down the steps
and rolled till it stopped
by my Daddy so tall.
Down went the cat
that twisted and squirmed
till it landed flat
on its four furry feet.
Down went the puzzle
so hard to do,
then CRASH! And CLASH!
was a hundred and one
pieces again.
Down went the brush
just dipped in red paint
and spotted poor Spot
who all of a sudden
was just one red spot.
Down went the clay
that I shaped like a jay
and THUMP!
resembled a bump.
Down went the phone
with such a jingle and jangle
that my friend cried out
“Why! My ear’s a’ tingle!”
Down went the plate
which I wanted to wash
but instead it went
SMASH!
and shattered to shards.
Down I went
from my bicycle seat
but as soon as I landed
UP
I POPPED
like a jack-in-the-box.
Laura, I love Down Went The Spoon and am looking forward to putting it up on our site. It's fun and certainly a much more pleasant memory for you to dwell upon than the others. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Posted by: JC | May 23, 2009 at 03:30 PM
AWWWW..those are the memories you certainly want to keep.
Posted by: Gwen | May 23, 2009 at 07:54 PM
I recently found a shoebox full of letters from my ex - simply tossed it without opening any of them. No sadness or anger - simply total disinterest.
And never mind the lack of publication - I think that poem is delightful and I bet your children did, too!
Posted by: Beth | May 24, 2009 at 04:10 AM
JC, it certainly is pleasurable to recall the joy of a young child, rather than the other stuff. It makes you realize how resilient we are, and how we can survive unhappiness, because there is generally some happiness interspersed.
Gwen, I'm going to send it to her now. The first book that she inspired.
Beth, good for you. Dump the chump! Why, why is it that I never read my stories to the girls? That's something I should think about, but maybe not, rather I should just change things now.
Posted by: Laura of Rebellious Thoughts of a Woman | May 24, 2009 at 06:40 AM
I like your children's story very much! And I agree some things from the past are not worth preserving. I used to keep stuff like crazy til I thought what if I dropped dead today - would my kids want this stuff? And the answer is always no.
Posted by: Bonnie Krauss | May 24, 2009 at 07:55 AM
I recently found some old pics from football games/tailgating, many of which included those typical boyfriend pics, me smiling holding onto the "man I wanted to marry." I laugh at that thought now, but those photos went straight in the trash withouth a thought as I reminisced about all those good times with my friends I still keep in touch with.
They were actual photos with negatives, that made me laugh a little.
Posted by: Liz A. | May 24, 2009 at 11:55 AM
The stories are a good find. Maybe the letters were too. The thing guess I think of is how people change over time...I don't know if it is quick or a slow process. We all know that people change continuosly, but is it that some change together and other change seperately.
Posted by: morethananelectrician | May 24, 2009 at 09:09 PM
Bonnie, I'm glad you liked the story. It's probably a good idea every few years to pretend that you will be moving so that you can winnow down your stuff. What I am finding is that, really, who needs so much and I'm not even an acquirer but it's still too much.
Liz, ah, but if one of those men had been the man, you would have been so glad to have had the pictures. I didn't have any pictures of past boyfriends.
MTAE, in some cases it's that you realize the other person won't change, or that you really see it for what it is, without the softening touch of new love.
Posted by: Laura of Rebellious Thoughts of a Woman | May 25, 2009 at 05:48 AM
I loved the story, honestly, I found that same stack from my ex and me to him and I cannot believe I ever ever felt that way. For me, I kept them. I don't know why.
Posted by: Jessica | May 25, 2009 at 10:52 PM
I too wrote children's stories when my kids were small - all rejected by publishers. I love yours.
Good you threw out the letters.
Posted by: Pseudo | May 28, 2009 at 08:54 AM