The House at Pooh Corner

Christopher Robin and I walked along

Under branches lit up by the moon

Posing our questions to Owl and Eeyore

As our days disappeared all too soon

But I’ve wandered much further today than I should

And I can’t seem to find my way back to the Wood

                 Richard and I are downsizing and boy, what a pain! One of the disadvantages to having houses with basements and lots of storage spaces is that you save everything and you don’t even know it. We keep throwing out boxes and boxes of stuff, but it just seems like the stuff keeps multiplying. We plan to move to North Carolina next summer and our house there is a good bit smaller, so the stuff has to go. One of the big tasks we have to do before we put our house up for sale is to clean out the two storerooms in our basement. Our basement is not one of those cool basements you see on Pinterest. Instead, it is the old-fashioned kind – dark, damp, musty, and a little creepy; however, it must be done, so we have been spending our weekends sorting through boxes of stuff.

                I knew this would be emotional for me because I would be going through some childhood mementos of Jacob’s. I wasn’t prepared, however, for just how bittersweet it is looking at all of my children’s photos, stuffed animals, baby clothes, etc. For some reason, I saved every note they ever wrote me, their favorite stuffed animals (some with heads and arms missing), their report cards, even their “diplomas” from preschool. I had just spent three weeks this summer going through all of my mom’s belongings and wondering why she saved so much stuff and here, I had done the same thing.

Kermit the Frog, survivor of all 3 kids

So help me if you can

I’ve got to go back

To the House at Pooh Corner by one

You’d be surprised

There’s so much to be done

Count all the bees in the hive

Chase all the clouds from the sky

Back to days of Christopher Robin and Pooh

 One of things I do to help me get through this cleaning-out process is to listen to music on my iPhone. As I was going through boxes of Ben’s things today, Kenny Loggin’s “Return To Pooh Corner” started playing. As I listened to the song, tears began to flow. I was transported back to Kermit, Texas, rocking my first-born. I was scared to death, but so in love with this new little baby boy. I knew then, as I know now, that the best job I would ever have was to be a mom.

                                           This is a picture of Ben at about three months old.
 

Winnie the Pooh doesn’t know what to do
Got a honey jar stuck on his nose
He came to me asking help and advice
From here no one knows where to goes
So I sent him to ask of the Owl if he’s there
How to loosen a jar from the nose of a bear
 

When I was a new mother, I loved to read Winnie the Pooh books to Ben. I really didn’t appreciate what wonderful literature it was back then. As the years passed by and I started teaching, I began to understand why A.A.Milne’s books have been loved for so many years. I would spend hours reading them to all three children. On those long, hot, humid Houston summer days, it would seem like we were transported to the cool, lush woods of Christopher Robin and his friends. I can remember reading these books so often to the kids that I had them memorized. The kids had their favorite characters and would reenact the stories over and over and over again.

Katie, at about three weeks old.

 

elp me if I’ve got to backTo the House at Poh Corner by oneYou’d be surprisedThere’s so much to be doneCount all the bees in the hiveChase all the clouds from skyBack to the days of Christopher and Robin and Pooh. Help me if you can

I’ve got to get back

To the house at Pooh Corner by one

You’d be surprised

There’s so much to be done

Count all the bees in the hive

Chase all the clouds from the sky

Back to the days of Christopher Robin and Pooh.

 

 

                The tears flow as I look at pictures, baby books, stuffed animals, and so on. I think back to what life was like as a young mom, far away from family. This was before Facebook, Facetime, Skype and the Internet. I would talk to my mom and Richard’s mom once a week. If the kids were sick, I would call Dr. Mom and get her advice, a thousand miles away. I wasn’t sure I would ever make it out of those preschool years. The days were long, and a little scary. The years when I was totally homebound with Jacob were by far the most frightening. More about that for another time.   

Jacob at about one year old– I think.

It’s hard to explain how a few precious things

Seem to follow throughout all our lives

After all’s said and done I was watching my son

Sleeping there with my bear by his side

So I tucked him in, I kissed him and as I was going

I swear that the old bear whispered, “Boy, welcome home.”
 

 So, here I am, with my children grown, wondering where those days of Christopher Robin and his friends have gone. How did it happen so fast? I know young mothers don’t like for us older moms to say this, but, truly, it did go by in a blink of an eye. There are moments when I wish I could be transported back to where my children were snuggled up on the couch reading about the antics of Pooh. Then, I think if I have to read about Winnie the Pooh getting that silly honey jar stuck on his nose one more time, I may be tempted to break that jar with a baseball bat. I remember that there is a reason that the universe designed for moms to be young. I don’t think I could go through those preschool years again. It’s pretty fun having grown children who turned out to love each other and their family and not be too terribly messed up from the job I did as their mother.

One of my very, very favorite pictures….Christmas 2008, one of the last pictures of the three kids together.

 

 

And, of course, the best thing about having your kids grow up is that they give you adorable grandchildren.