Books and Memories

The last time we went home (home is Mobile,) we took like 12 suitcases, 6 reusable totes full of stuff, and 3 books. That's what traveling with a 6 year old and 6 month old looks like! 

Among those 3 books were an Elephant and Piggie, a World Record book, and this one.

A student in my class had given it to me at my school baby shower. I loved it immediately and knew I wanted my family to record themselves reading so M could hear their voices and keep them in his heart. 
 
On our last day, we met at Hardee's for a good ol' fashioned biscuit and everyone read a page-Oba, Pops, Peeper, A, T, Daddy, and me. It was kind of like herding cats to make it happen, but we did it! 

As soon as we arrived back home (home is Georgia,) I went to the bookshelf in T's room to find his book. We made one when he was a baby, too. I was climbing the bed thinking that the batteries were probably dead or maybe it was lost when the pipes froze. It wasn't pretty. You know that feeling when you are looking for something so special and instantly, even when you really haven't even looked yet, you feel like you won't find it and you start to panic? That's where I was. Panic! 30 seconds later, I pulled it off the shelf. 

I wiped my hand across the cover. I held it close to me. I sat on his bed and just looked at it. Then I turned straight to the Hickory Dickory Dock page. 

Tears, oh the tears. It was like finding a hidden treasure. The times I've thought to myself, if I could just hear her voice one more time. There it was. It will be there forever. It is there for T and M and me and Peeper and A. This is my pot of gold. This is my sunshine on a cloudy day. This is my Granny. Next month will be a year since she passed. It blows my mind that we can still have her tell us a bedtime story. 

So Hallmark, inventor of these books, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.