The Po Show

Heart of Gold

Tessa had a writer's workshop assignment in school that went "When your piggybank is full, what would you go and buy? Why?"

Tessa drew a picture of herself and Matthew in a store, under a sign that said "Chars" (Chairs), and she is holding her pink elephant bank (that Susanna and crew gave her for her first birthday!). She is looking across the room with a big smile on her face (over a brown chair and a red chair), to a green chair with brown rockers.

Her essay goes (I've fixed up the spelling, since it's VERY inventive :)):

"If my elephant bank was full I would buy a rocking chair for my mom. Because our old one squeaks."

I actually had tears running down my face as I read this, it was so sweet and so funny and so remarkable. Out of all the things she could have written that she wanted to buy, she wanted to buy something for me. And it was the perfect choice, because she has heard me lament on a million occasions about how sad I am that my beloved glider rocker (purchased right before she was born, and the spot were I sat and nursed her and rocked her to sleep hundreds of thousands of times) has gotten so thrashed over the years. The kids have messed up the rockers by pushing their feet against the chair from the side, and by sitting on the edge of the chair and rocking. Plus Ross has sat in it a lot in recent years and he's not exactly, well, light. So I can't even stand to sit in it anymore, since it squeaks so badly and rocks too far back.

So my generous girl chose to write about buying me a new one, in green, my favorite color. Color me a puddle of mommy.