last night, we started the reading with 4 chapters left in the book, and i couldn't stop myself from reading through until the end. she stayed with me, attentive, a little confused, but excited to push through to hear the end. here's what i knew but she didn't: in the last 4 chapters, wilbur wins a prize, charlotte DIES, wilbur mourns, and new life arises when charlotte's babies emerge from the egg sac. it is very moving, and i cried very hard when reading about charlotte's death and wilbur's grief. ramona could not believe how hard i was crying. despite all her enjoyment of the book, she wasn't there with me, engaged with the characters in the same emotional way. i think she was kind of shocked.
so i pulled myself together, and pressed on until the end. ramona found a tissue for me to help wipe my tears, reassured me that charlotte was just a spider and it's ok, and then she snuggled her small warm body into my lap to finish a big kid chapter book with me. and when we got to that last page, i came to the following line and was so moved, so deeply moved, to recognize my own life and my own joy, reflected there in wilbur's contentment:
"Life in the barn was very good--night and day, winter and summer, spring and fall, dull days and bright days. It was the best place to be, thought Wilbur, this warm delicious cellar, with the garrulous geese, the changing seasons, the heat of the sun, the passage of swallows, the nearness of rats, the sameness of sheep, the love of spiders, the smell of manure, and the glory of everything."
the glory of everything.
all of it.
1 comment:
I love reading your mother and daughter moments but it really makes me miss all of you.
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