Day 14 of our 31 Letters Literacy Project is all about parents and caretakers and children. This topic is inspired by a poem we bumped into on Day 14 of 365 Days of Literacy for Kids… a poem called LULLABY:
LULLABY – Akan, Africa
Someone would like to have you for her child
But you are mine.
Someone would like to rear you on a costly mat
But you are mine.
Someone would like to place you on a camel blanket
But you are mine.
I have to rear you on a torn old mat.
Someone would like to have you as her child
But you are mine.
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This little Akan poem takes us all the way across the world to let us know that mothers/caretakers everywhere think the same way.
Think back to when you were a child. Grab a moment when you knew with every inch of your heart and soul just how loved you were. Grab your pen and get this moment on paper.
Here is my letter about this moment for my grandchildren:
Dear_____________________,
Hi, my little darlings! Love is a wonderful thing. Love that comes from the depth of our hearts is something that writers and poets and artists have tried to capture since time began. The love of a Mom or Dad or special grown-up is one love that you can feel. Today’s letter is about that kind of love.
When I was about 7 years old, I got very sick with pneumonia. The pneumonia was made worse by my asthma. It was one of those times when my Dad was “out to sea”, so my Mom was home alone with my two brothers and me. One day, while I home from school sick, I hard a very hard time breathing. I remember my Mom coming into my bedroom, sitting me up and rubbing my back. I didn’t get any better. I remember her quickly picking me up… I still had my pajamas on… and carrying me next door to our neighbor’s house.
You know how tiny Grandma Rita is. She was tiny back then, too. But she calmly picked me up and whispered that everything was going to be all right. I remember thinking how can Mommy carry me… but I was too weak to talk. The neighbor hurriedly followed us out to my Mom’s car… everything was so quick… and I remember a pillow under my head as my Mom put me in the back seat. I was scared. But my Mom was so calm. The Naval Hospital wasn’t far, and I remember seeing the sky and hearing the road as we raced to the hospital.
When we got there, my Mom scooped me up and she ran to the door of the hospital. She was running so fast. Fast. I still remember thinking how can Mommy carry me… but she did. She carried me, running. Running fast fast fast fast.
I remember laying on a stretcher and doctors looking at me. Checking my chest and my back. Talking to my Mom. They gave me some medicine and something to make me breathe better. My Mom held my hand as the doctors did what doctors do. We stayed at the hospital until my breathing got better.
Then my Mom carried me back to our car. I remember thinking how can Mommy carry me… I am so big… and soon we were driving home. My Mom carried me into our house and I felt a pillow under my head as she tucked me into my bed. My brothers came home from our neighbor’s house and they whispered outside the bedroom door. My Mom came into the bedroom and checked on me all night long.
I was so sick, but I felt so safe and cared for and loved. I have always felt loved by my Mom… but that day… the day my Mom carried me so fast running running fast fast fast to get me help… I felt like my Mom was a superhero. I remember her running and I remember her calm. I remember her LOVE.
Love comes from the depths of our hearts, and the love of Moms and Dads and special grown-up in our lives is the most magical love of all!
Love forever and ever,
Grandma Couto
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Write a loving letter to your kids, grandkids and special kids in your life today! Mail it! Experience the magic of your WORDS!
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MAIL TIDBIT of the DAY: During the 19th and early 20th centuries, mailmen knocked on the door and waited for residents to open the door and receive their mail!
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