Thursday, January 21, 2010

She Makes Me Proud

My daughter, Elizabeth, had an assignment in school to write memoirs. She was to select events and occasions in her life which have shaped her into the person she is today, and write about them. And I, dear old Mom, had the pleasure of proof-reading.
Oh, my. I'll admit to being biased. I mean, she is my daughter. But I am so impressed with Elizabeth's writing skills! Seriously. As in, I bet her teacher will read some of her writing to the class.
I always wanted to write something "good enough" for my teacher to read in class.
It never happened.

Anyway, I thought this particular piece was just charming and asked Elizabeth if I could share it with you. Next week I want to post another one which will pull a little harder at your heart. But for today, I present you with this:

Squirrels
Outside, the breeze rustled the lush grass and green leaves of the mighty walnut tree. Sweet aromas floated to me on the air from the flower garden out back. Pleasant chitter-chatter of birds soothed me. The sun was shining. Summer was fully here.
I lugged my bike out from the overflowing garage and started riding around. There wasn't really anywhere to go, but it was a beautiful day out, not to be wasted.
Turning down a street, a sound caught my attention. Under the shade of a giant oak tree, two squirrels sat there, eating acorns and squeaking to each other. It was as if they were conversing over lunch.
I restrained myself from laughing aloud, in fear of scaring them off. After a while of watching them gleefully, I started to ride away again. Something caught my eye, though.
A scrawny squirrel with matted fur and only half a tail was crouched across the street. At the sight, or smell of him (I don't know which) the other squirrels jumped into an offensive, I-am-the-tough-one-here kind of look.
The pitiful little squirrel backed away, and I could almost hear his tummy growl. "Oh, shoo! Shoo all you squirrels," I yelled, waving my hands to scare them off. When all the fluffy-tailed rodents were out of under the tree, I scooped up some acorns and crossed the street, leaving my bike to wobble and crash.
"Come on little squirrel, I won't hurt you," I crooned. I tossed one acorn a few feet from where I was. "I'll name you Joe, okay?" Joe crept up to the food, sniffed it, and scampered backwards a little, with the nut in his mouth. His furry little paws shoved the food in his cheek, and then he cocked his head for more. I tossed another. And another. Soon Joe was off burying the acorns his full little belly couldn't hold.
A great fullness swept over me then. A sense of purpose and helpfulness filled me up. Sure, the weather made me cheerful, but this was amazing. I felt carefree and powerful, like I could do anything in the world.
Just then I realized something: I want to help as much as I can if it makes me feel this way.
And I absolutely and totally, under all conditions, love squirrels.
Isn't she sweet?
She makes me proud!


Karen

26 comments:

Leah Adams said...

She is good!! She will have to start a blog of her own. What a precious story...even if it is about a rat with a furry tail. Sorry, we do not like squirrels around here. Chewed up my window sills in my garage. GGGRRRRR!!

Leah

Karen Hossink said...

Leah - I tend to side with you. We had lots of squirrels where we used to live (Where this story of Elizabeth's takes place.) and they were not kind to my flowers.
Bit the heads off my tulips and left them laying on the ground. I am sure they did it just to spite me! And they often dug up bulbs I had just planted.

But once, when I was planting bulbs I came across a walnut one of the squirrels had buried. I picked it up, looked up into the trees over my head, and yelled, "See this???" And threw the walnut over the fence.
Not sure the squirrels got my message, but I sure felt better. LOL!

Mary Jo said...

Wow! I felt proud and she isn't even my daughter! ;) Great post. And I do believe you have a budding writer on your hands.

That was awesome.

luvmy4sons said...

Wow! That was wonderful! She has a gift! What a beautiful caring heart she has. Somebody must have reared her up right! Wink wink! You have every reason to be proud!

Jessica Nelson said...

Absolutely awesome! Her descriptions were great and she got straight to the point of the story. You're right to be proud of her. :-)

Karen Hossink said...

Mary - Yes. I believe so, too. In fact, she's already talkng about her first book series! *grin*

Leslie - I think she has a gift, too. Thank you for the mothering encouragement.

Jessica - That's what I thought! I just loved the way she described things.

Denise said...

This IS great writing...and did you know that today is National Squirrel day? Seriously! And it is also National Hugging day, though I do not recommend hugging a squirrel.....

gianna said...

seriously, i want to write just LIKE her! she is great! i personally hate squirrels (ever since one attacked my dog), but i can overlook that for a good story! and man she told a great one! one with a great life lesson!

Mari said...

She is so talented! She could write a book. She had such description in it and a lesson as well.

Patricia said...

GREAT writing!!! What a wonderful little story & how the experience empowered her in such a caring way is so touching!!

Way to go, Elizabeth!!

Jerralea said...

Wonderful story! I love how she ends it with realizing that helping something makes you love it. If only we adults could realize that

Ronel said...

Do you have a little writter on your hands? I think so :0)

Karen Hossink said...

Denise - You're kidding! I did not know that! Yeah, I'm just that good, posting about loving squirrels on National Squirrel Day. LOL!

Gianna - Yes. And the real treat for me was listening to her read it out loud. It totally got me past my feelings for the little rodents. *grin*

Mari - I have a suspicion she will write a book one day.

Patricia - Yes. Elizabeth's lesson from the experience touched my heart, too.

Jerri - We would do well to realize that truth, wouldn't we!

Ronel - Yes. I believe so!

Angie Muresan said...

She is indeed! Takes after her mama, doesn't she? That was so beautiful that I had my son read it too. He is 9 and wants to be a writer. Can't wait for the next installment from Elizabeth, Karen.
Have a blessed and peaceful evening with your gorgeous family!

O Mom said...

Loved this story. I read it to my 2 little ones today at school. They both thought it was great!

km said...

I sure can see why you're proud. This is great.

Having your work read by a teacher to the class isn't all you might think...it's kind of embarrassing.

Karen Hossink said...

Aw, thanks, Angie. *blush*
The next one I'm going to post made me cry. Will be putting that disclaimer at the top!

O Mom - I'm glad your kids got in on the fun, too.

KM - All through high school I just wanted to write something "good enough." See, being good enough has been a long-standing struggle for me. *sigh*
But when I was a sophomore in college, my English professor did read one of my papers to the class. I nearly floated back to the dorm that day!

My ADHD Me said...

Ahh! Obviously the nut didn't fall far from the tree...ouch....excuse the pun.

Not only have you passed along your wonderful writing skills, but your compassion also.

Outstanding!!

Karen Hossink said...

My ADHD Me - No excuses necessary. When the opportunity presents itself for a line like that, you just have to take it. *grin*
Thanks for the kind words.

My ADHD Me said...

I just read the comment that you wrote this on National Squirrel Day.
wahahahaha

As for does saying "Monkeys Are Funny", does it help? Read the comic strip at the top of my blog. haha.

Karen Hossink said...

My ADHD Me - Yes, I have read it. So, is that a NO? *grin*

Edie said...

Aw I'm in tears over here. That was really a great story. Not only in the writing but in the lesson and perspective. You should be very proud!

Edie said...

Just a note. What I learned about your daughter in addition to the fantastic writing skills.

She has a heart for the underdog.
She may have the gift of helps.

I'm always looking at the design. :)

Karen Hossink said...

Edie - Thank you. You're absolutely right. Elizabeth has a heart for the underdog. She is full of compassion. And the gift of helps? I think you're right on there, too.
Wonder why she doesn't enjoy her chores more? LOL!

Wait until next week's post by Elizabeth. You will definitely see her heart there! (It will run Wednesday.)

happyhome said...

Oh, you should be proud! What a well written story...it drew me right in. She did an amazing job of painting a beautiful mental picture for her reader.

Karen Hossink said...

Angela - I have wondered how other readers picture this story. Since I lived there, I know just what she's talking about. The huge walnut tree and the overflowing garage. I hope you're able to see it as beautifully as it really is!