Nanny and her girls in Newport News 2007 |
After getting up this morning to see the snow falling and making the necessary arrangements to cancel the morning classes , I brought my coffee back to bed to read and meditate before jumping into this ‘snow day.’
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Nanny at her 100th Birthday Celebration (2006) |
I began thinking of Nanny today, the third anniversary of her death, and the many memories, even little things, like her recitation of her favorite silly poem. When we “played school” we would practice it all the time. When you think about it, memorizing (especially a poem) is really a lost art. I mean who memorizes anything these days with the internet at your fingertips and in your pocket?
Believe it or not I can still recite almost the entire thing, and some days I can’t even remember what I had for breakfast! I even made mention of it in the piece I wrote for her funeral mass (see my original post )
So this morning I pulled out my very worn copy of the poem to share, written on yellow legal paper in pencil in Nanny’s beautiful Catholic school penmanship.
There are much bigger memories and momentous occasions, but sometimes it’s the littlest things that stick with you.
Mattie’s Wants and Wishes
I wants a piece of Calico
To make my doll a dress
I doesn’t want a big piece
A yard will do I guess
I wish you’d fred my needle
and find my fimble too
I have such heaps of sewing
I don’t know what to do
My Hepsie tord her apron
In tumbling down the stairs
An’ Caesar lost his pantaloons
He needs a nuzzer pair
My Maude must have a bonnet
She hasn’t none at all
Fred must have a jacket
His ozzer one’s too small
I want to go to Grandma’s
You promised me I might
I know she’d like to see me
I wants to go tonight
She lets me wipe the dishes
And look in Grandpa’s watch
I wish I had a penny
To buy some butterscotch
I need some newer mittens
I wish you’d knit me some
My fingers alomost freezes
They leak so at the fum
I wore them out last summer
Pullin’ George’s sled
I wish you wouldn’t laugh so
It hurts me in the head
I wish I had a cookie
I’m hungry as can be
If you haven’t got a large one
You’d better bring me free
I wish I had a piano
Won’t you buy me one to keep
Oh dear I’m so tired
I wants to go to sleep