Anne's daughter's list reminded me of the list N and her friend A made when they were in 2nd and 3rd grade, I think it even extended into 4th grade. It's quite a different list but involves horses as well.
At that time in their lives they believed that they would always be together. They had been together at least weekly since they were three years old, why wouldn't this friendship last forever?
They started a list of all the things they would need when they rode their horses to Brazil. Yes, Brazil. They were smart enough to realize that they couldn't swim across the ocean's and would have to stay within the continent of America.
The list had everything from tents, food, sleeping bags to extra tack, and feed for their horses. Towards the end the notebook was getting quite full.
N told me this weekend that her dreams had been dashed when she overheard her father say
"Why are they wasting their time on this? It will never happen." I knew it was a way for her and A to stay connected when they were put in different classes. It also satisfied a need in them to dream of horses and filled their imaginations of the wonders they might see. Both girls have always been gifted and I think it also filled their needs to do more than what was required at school.
As they grew older the plans changed and they decided instead to take a horse back trip to Wyoming when they graduated from college. I think at that point they still thought they would be together.
They are a freshman and a sophomore now and I know in N's heart she hopes A will join her in college when she graduates. Whether they secretly still have their trip planned is another thing.
They are still close after twelve years of friendship. They have been competing against each other for years in horse shows and always find a kind word for each other. At one point A's mom asked N "Please tell A...." (some advice on riding). N said "No. We don't do that." It's sacred this friendship they've developed. I hope it always remains so. We should all be blessed with just one friend like that.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
The List
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2 comments:
That is so lovely. I got goosebumps reading it. N. and A. are so lucky to have each other, and to have had that list.
This is not a list story, but about a child and Brazil. In fifth grade we were assigned to write a story that began with the phrase, "We started our trip in Manaus" (Brazil) and the characters were to get to Lima, Peru. Everyone wrote two to three page stories. Mine was like 30 pages. I really got into it and researched the path they would take, the flora and fauna. I was a main character, and were the four hobbits from LOTR. I have two main memories of this story:
When I described the story to my mother, instead of saying "Oh, how creative!", she said, "using characters from another book is plagiarism and is against the law. Be careful!"
The other was that a few days after we submitted the stories, I went in from recess early for some reason and discovered my teacher reading my story to the kids who had not been well enough to go out and play. I was so touched. It was so motivating to think Mr. Walters that my story was good enough to be read aloud. The next year I wrote a 148 page (hand written) time travel novel to the middle ages. I have never shown my mother any of my fiction to this day (although she does read my blog sometimes, which may or may not be fiction).
I love this story (and thanks for the mention!). Some day someone will probably ride to Brazil (if they haven't already). Or maybe the important part is to dream.
What a wonderful way to keep in touch, to preserve the fragile connections and boundaries of friendship ("No, we don't do that.") I hope they have horses AND stay friends forever. And somehow I think that there is a trip in the future. There really should be!
The previous poster's story is magnificent, too. I'm glad she had the teacher to show her how good she was. I think she needs to realize that what she did was so very good that her mother assumed it was written by an adult -- now that she's an adult, maybe her mom won't worry that she lifted it!
Then I worry about what I'm doing and saying to kill dreams and put up walls. Parents mean the best, but we somehow do the worst. Not always, but often enough.
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