Dear Reader:

For over a year I have been reading and re-reading A. A. Milne’s classic book: Now We Are Six. The perfect birthday gift for a child turning six. And that is just what Eva Cate will do on April 27.

The introduction to the little book says it all: “What a wonderful feeling it is, to know that wherever you are …there is something you love.”  Isn’t that true of all our favorite books (the power and beauty of reading)…no matter where we go…if the beloved book accompanies us…there will be something there to love.

A few months ago I showed the book to Anne and shared with her the popular poem that brings ending to the little book of rhymes, prose, and anecdotes. Appropriately it is called: “The End”

When I was One,

I had just begun.

When I was Two,

I was nearly new.

When I was Three,

I was hardly Me. 

When I was Four.

I was not much more. 

When I was Five,

I was just alive.

But now I am Six, I’m as clever as clever

So I think I’ll be six now for ever and ever. 

………………….

I told her that I remember our first grade class memorizing the little ditty for a parent presentation. The class was broken up into five groups…each group stepping forward saying their line until (the big finale) the whole class came back with “But now I am six. I’m clever as clever…so I think I’ll be six now for ever and ever.”

I must have been in the “When I was one…I had just begun” group because I remember wearing a baby head bonnet and holding a baby rattler. Funny, the things we remember.

I asked Anne one day (months ago) when she was over if she could write the poem out on some art paper and perhaps draw something that included Eva Cate in the background…then I would mat and frame it for her birthday. Anne readily agreed and kept asking me to remind her when the birthday drew near. Suddenly, last week, she appeared with this amazing watercolor….the artwork that will live forever in mine and Eva Cate’s heart.

She took this photo of Eva Cate from the blog and then turned it into this….

 Unbelievable…what a treasure for the memory books! Now Eva Cate will always be “frozen” at age six for eternity! I plan to give it to her for her kindergarten graduation present April 28…the day after her official birthday.

I am going to miss her party since it is the weekend before her birthday and that is when Matthew gets married. Isn’t time strange that way…for three weeks I have sat here basically staring at the walls and then this upcoming week (and the following) are filled to the brim with more activities that one can shake a stick at. Such is life!

So until tomorrow…Let us all remain “six” forever in our hearts…no matter what our mirrors tell us.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*A BIG SHOUT-OUT to my daughter Mandy who won the coveted Nicole Barrett IB (International Baccalaureate) Award for 2016… for excellence in teaching  and accelerated learning at Buist Academy.

Mandy was on such a high and then was faced with the reality of Charleston County budget cuts…of which the special areas (art, music, P.E etc.) are taking a big hit. *I still can’t figure out how Charleston can “lose” 180 million dollars from its budget….where did it run to? Please keep Mandy (and hundreds of Charleston educators facing loss of jobs or displacement due to budget cuts) in your thoughts and prayers. It is stressful and hard on all the families involved. We are in wait and see mode…which is always difficult.

*I had two visitors yesterday to provide a break from myself….loved it. First Susan was in town for Valerie’s Retirement at CSU from the Music Department and she came bearing a beautiful gift….a homemade pound cake with icing. No sooner had she gotten in the car than Gin-g showed up with a slice of Red Velvet cake.

Friends…I am here to tell you….if one can get “cured” by being “sugar cured” then I am cured!