
WORLD, I bequeath to you today one little girl in a crispy dress... with two blue eyes...
And a happy laugh that ripples all day long, and a batch of shining hair that bounces in the sunlight when she runs,
I TRUST YOU'LL BE TREATING HER WELL.
She's slipping out of the backyard of my heart this morning and skipping prim and proud, she'll wave a young and independent hand this morning, and say goodbye and walk with little lady-like steps to the nearby schoolhouse.
Gone will be the chattering little hoyden who lived only for play, and gone will be the delightful little gamin who roamed the yard like a proud princess with nary a care in her little world.
NOW, SHE WILL LEARN TO STAND IN LINES... AND WAIT BY THE ALPHABET FOR HER NAME TO BE CALLED.
She will learn to giggle and gossip...
And to look at the ceiling in a disinterested way when the little boy across the aisle sticks out his tongue.
Now she will learn to be jealous... And now she will learn how it is to feel hurt inside... And now she will learn how not to cry...
No longer will she have time to sit on the front porch steps on a summer day and watch while an ant scurries across a crack in the sidewalk...
Or will she have time to pop out of bed with the dawn to kiss lilac blossoms in the morning dew...
Now she will worry about important things... like grades... and what dresses to wear... and whose best friend is whose...
Now she will worry about the little boy who pulls her hair at recess time... and staying after school... and which little girls like which little boys...
And the magic of books and knowledge will soon take the place of the magic of her blocks and dolls.
AND SHE WILL FIND NEW HEROES.
For six full years I've been her sage and Santa Clause... Her pal and playmate... her mother and friend...
Now, alas, she'll learn to share her worship and adoration with her teachers (which is only right)...
AND NO LONGER WILL I BE THE SMARTEST, GREATEST WOMEN IN THE WORLD.
Today, when the first school bell rings, she'll learn how it is to be a member of the group... with all its privileges, and of course, its disadvantages too.
She will learn in time that proper young ladies do not laugh out loud... or kiss dogs... or keep frogs in pickle jars in bedrooms... or watch ants scurry across the cracks in a summer sidewalk...
Today, she will begin to learn for the first time that all who smile at her are not her friends... That "the group" can be a demanding mistress...
And I'll stand on the porch and watch her start out on the long, long journey to becoming a woman...
So world, I bequeath to you today one little girl in a crispy dress with two blue eyes...
And a happy laugh that ripples all day long, and a batch of shining hair that bounces in the sunlight when she runs
I trust you'll treat her well.
