"THE LITTLE SLEEPING BEAUTY"

Hi folks, this is Two Texas PawPaw. I ran accross some material last night while searching through my files and I found this letter that was written about 15 years ago. At the time I wrote it, my grand daughters, Angie and Kendra, were about 9 and 11 years old. I remember I borrowed some of the material from my friend Jimmy Dean again, and added a touch or two of my own. It's called "The Little Sleeping Beauty" and it goes like this:-----DEAR ANGIE, I KNEW IF I WAITED LONG ENOUGH, I'D FIND THE TIME TO HAVE THAT LITTLE TALK WITH YOU THAT I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO HAVE. I UNDERSTAND LATELY, MOM HAS HAD TO SAY "NO" TO YOU ABOUT A FEW THINGS YOU WANTED HER TO SAY "YES" TO. I GUESS YOU'VE BEEN HAVING A HARD TIME UNDERSTANDING WHY. WELL, I WANT TO REVEAL A SECRET TO YOU ABOUT SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED NOT LONG AGO. ONE NIGHT YOUR MOM SNEAKED INTO YOUR ROOM WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING. SHE LOOKED DOWN AT YOU AND YOU WERE SMILING AND SHE THOUGHT HOW MUCH LIKE SLEEPING BEAUTY A LITTLE GIRL IS. WHEN SHE TUCKS YOU IN AT NIGHT, SHE NEVER KNOWS HOW OLD YOU ARE GOING TO BE THE NEXT MORNING WHEN YOU WAKE UP. ONE EVENING YOU RUN IN, JUMP UP IN YOUR MOMS LAP, THROW YOUR ARMS AROUND HER NECK, AND THE NEXT MORNING, YOU'LL BE TOO GROWN UP FOR THAT SORT OF THING. YOU WERE SO QUICKLY APPROACHING THE AWKWARD AGE. TOO YOUNG TO DRIVE THE CAR, AND YET, TOO OLD TO BE CARRIED INTO THE HOUSE ON SOMEONES SHOULDER, HALF ASLEEP. AND AS SHE SAT THERE AND WATCHED YOU SLEEP, SHE THOUGHT, SLEEPING BEAUTY, THAT YOU'RE GOING ON A VERY EXCITING TRIP. YOU'RE GOING TO TRAVEL FROM YESTERDAY ALL THE WAY TO TOMORROW, IT'LL BE A RAPID JOURNEY AND YOU WILL TRAVEL LITE, LEAVING BEHIND YOU, MEASLES AND MUMPS, FRECKLES AND BUMPS, BUBBLE GUM, AND MOM. SHE PROMISED HERSELF THAT SHE WOULDN'T BE HURT WHEN YOU FIND OUT THAT THE OLD WORLD OUT THERE IS A LOT MORE EXCITING THAN YOUR OLD MOM'S LAP. SHE THOUGHT TO HERSELF THAT YESTERDAY YOU WORE BLUEJEANS AND PIGTAILS, THE NEIGHBORHOODS BEST TREE CLIMBER. TOMORROW YOU'LL BE STARRY EYED AND PONY TAILED AND YOU'LL VIEW THE WORLD FROM A LOFTIER PERCH, IN A PAIR OF HIGH HEELED SHOES. YESTERDAY YOU COULD MEND A DOLLS BROKEN LEG WITH A HUG. TOMORROW YOU'LL BE ABLE TO BREAK A YOUNG MANS HEART WITH A KISS. YESTERDAY YOU COULD GET LOST ONE AISLE AWAY FROM HER IN A SUPER MARKET. TOMORROW SHE HAS GOT TO WORRY ABOUT LOSING YOU DOWN ANOTHER AISLE TO SOME STRANGE YOUNG MAN. YOU SEE HUN, JUST AT THE POINT WHERE YOUR GROWING PAINS STOP, HER'S KINDA BEGIN. YESTERDAY THERE WERE TIMES WHEN SHE THOUGHT YOU WERE A PAIN IN THE NECK TO BE AROUND. TOMORROW YOU'RE GOING TO BE A PAIN IN HER HEART WHEN YOU'RE NOT. YESTERDAY, YOU LAID ASIDE THE JUMP ROPE. TOMORROW YOU'RE GOING TO TIE UP THE TELEPHONE LINES FOR HOURS. AND THAT LITTLE BOYFRIEND WHO TRIED TO PUSH YOU IN THE MUD OR CHASE YOU HOME FROM SCHOOL, WELL, HE'S GONNA FIGHT BEFORE HE'LL SIT OUT A DANCE WITH YOU. YOUR MOM KNEW SETTING THERE THAT NIGHT SHE COULDN'T EXPECT YOU TO LIVE IN A DOLL HOUSE FOREVER. SOONER OR LATER, A BUTTERFLY SHEDS IT'S COCOON. THE SMALLEST BIRD HAS TO TRY IT'S WINGS. SO WHEN YOU GROW UP AND OUT OF HER ARMS, AND YOU FINALLY GET TO BIG FOR YOUR PAWPAW'S T-SHIRTS TO SLEEP IN, MOM'S GONNA STILL RECALL HOW YOU SCATTERED DUST, DOLLS, TOYS, AND COLORS, THROUGH EVERY ROOM IN THE HOUSE. AND YOU SPREAD A LITTLE SUNSHINE TOO. WELL, NOW, THE DUST HAS SETTLED. MOM HAS PICKED UP THE DOLLS, THE TOYS, AND THE COLORS, BUT THE SUNSHINE, THAT WILL ALWAYS FILL THE CORNER OF HER HEART. YESTERDAY YOU FUSSED WITH KENDRA OVER WHO WAS GOING TO DO WHAT, FIRST. TOMORROW, YOU'LL HOPE YOU SET A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR THAT LITTLE SISTER. SO, THERE MOM WAS TALKING TO YOU IN YOUR SLEEP, AND IF YOU COULD HAVE SEEN THAT LOOK ON HER FACE, WELL YOU WOULD HAVE PROBABLY LAUGHED, BUT IF SHE HAD TRIED TO SPEAK WITH THAT LUMP IN HER THROAT, SHE WOULD HAVE CRIED. YES, SHE LOOKED AT YOU ANGIE, AND YOU WERE A SLEEPING BEAUTY. SHE TIP TOED OVER AND KISSED YOU, BUT YOU DIDN'T WAKE UP, BECAUSE ACCORDING TO THE LEGEND, ONLY THE HANDSOME PRINCE COULD MAKE YOU OPEN YOUR EYES. MOM. WELL. SHE'S JUST THE MOTHER OF THE FUTURE BRIDE, AND SHE THOUGHT, SLEEP ON PRETTY THING, FOR TOMORROW YOU'LL AWAKE AND YOU'LL BE A YOUNG LADY, AND YOU WON'T EVEN REALIZE YOU'VE CHANGE COURSES IN THE MIDDLE OF A DREAM. YOU MIGHT NOTICE A LITTLE CHANGE IN MOM. SHE WILL LOOK A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN SHE DID THEN, A LITTLE OLDER, A LITTLE SADDER, BUT A WHOLE LOT RICHER. AND WHEN TOMORROW COMES, MOM WILL SAY, I HOPE I SAID ALL THE RIGHT YES'S AND ALL THE RIGHT NO'S, AND I HOPE ANGIE UNDERSTANDS THEY WERE ALL BECAUSE I LOVED HER. BUT, WHETHER SHE DOES OR NOT, ONE THING WILL NEVER CHANGE, AND YOU SHOULD ALWAYS REMEMBER THIS. YOU WILL ALWAYS BE "MOM'S LITTLE ANGIE":-----I guess you could say in a way, this dream and this letter came true. This is Two Texas PawPaw, signing off, and, the good Lord willing and the creeks don't rise, I'll be back tomorrow.