to Kindergarten!
Thoughts at the Bottom of
the Beanstalk
Once upon a time there was a
little boy named Jack who was about to climb his very first
beanstalk. He had a fresh haircut and a brand-new book bag.
Even though his friends in the neighborhood had climbed this same
beanstalk almost every day last year, this was Jack's first day and
he was a little nervous. So was his mother.
Early in the morning she brought him to the foot of the beanstalk.
She talked encouragingly to Jack about all the fun he would have
that day and how nice his giant would be. She reassured him that
she would be back to pick him up at the end of the day. For a
moment they stood together, silently holding hands, gazing up at
the beanstalk. To Jack it seemed much bigger than it had when his
mother had pointed it out on the way to the store last week. His
mother thought it looked big, too. She swallowed. Maybe she should
have held Jack out a year...
Jack's
mother straightened his shirt one last time, patted his shoulder
and smiled down at him. She promised to stay and wave while he
started climbing. Jack didn't say a word.
He
walked forward, grabbed a low-growing stem and slowly pulled
himself up to the first leaf. He balanced there for a moment and
then climbed more eagerly to the second leaf, then to the third and
soon he had vanished into a high tangle of leaves and stems with
never a backward glance at his mother.
She
stood alone at the bottom of the beanstalk, gazing up at the spot
where Jack had disappeared. There was no rustle, no movement, no
sound to indicate that he was anywhere inside.
"Sometimes," she thought, "it's harder to be the one who waves
good-bye than it is to be the one who climbs the beanstalk."
She
wondered how Jack would do. Would he miss her? How would he behave?
Did his giant understand that little boys sometimes acted silly
when they felt unsure? She fought down an urge to spring up the
stalk after Jack and maybe duck behind a bean to take a peek at how
he was doing.
"I'd better not. What if he saw me?" She knew Jack was really old
enough to handle this on his own. She reminded herself that after
all this was thought to be an excellent beanstalk and that everyone
said his giant was not only kind but had outstanding
qualifications.
"It's not so much that I'm worried about him," she thought, rubbing
the back of her neck. "It's just that he's growing up and I'm going
to miss him."
Jack's mother turned to leave. "Jack's going to have lots of bigger
beanstalks to climb in his life," she told herself.
"Today's the day he
starts practicing for them...
And
today's the day I start practicing something too: Cheering him on
and waving good-bye."
(Author Unknown)
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