A Tisket a Tasket

My office is covered with old drawings that my daughter made for me when she was younger. Whenever I received a new piece from her, I would write the date in the lower corner. The most recent entry from her is dated 2006, more than eight years ago. There was a time when it seemed as if I was receiving a new masterpiece for my walls almost every week. I knew in my mind at the time that these treasures from her would eventually cease, but knowing a fact doesn't make it any easier to embrace. I even have some old photographs of my daughter taped up on the filing cabinet next to my desk. I can almost hear her squeals of laughter emanating from them. It can quickly bring a tear to my eye if I let my gaze and my mind linger. Yet I am buoyed by the fact that the twinkle captured in her eyes in those old pictures, is still very much evident in her today.

Today's post came to me after I spent a moment looking at an old piece that my daughter made to celebrate the coming of Easter. It was actually a gift that she made especially for the Easter Bunny. On a piece of bright blue construction paper, she laid out a series of smiley face stickers as an Easter basket. She then further adorned her work with some stickers of rainbows. Finally, she drew Mr. Bunny a few pictures and wrote a short greeting for him. I remember the afternoon when she made this. I could just feel her excitement and the growing anticipation waiting for the morning when she could search for her hidden treasures and rip into the overflowing basket that she knew would be awaiting her. I also remember for some reason fretting about her using up all her stickers. I needn't have worried as she has many sheets of such stickers long since forgotten in boxes and drawers in her room. The other thing I remember about this picture is that shortly after that Easter I brought it to my office and attached it to my filing cabinet. For years afterward, long after she had set aside any such fancies holding that a magical bunny delivered goodies to all of the children about the world, I would hide it away whenever my daughter visited my office so that she wouldn't be worried that the Easter Bunny didn't get her gift. Actually I am quite sure that he did get it and that he is still enjoying it greatly.