"From The Day You Were Born"

Alright - I've been commissioned to write and illustrate a story as a gift for someone who is going to be giving birth to their first child soon.  I really had no idea what to do, and the only prerequisite for starters was something that they could read to them, and - hopefully - continue to read to them as they got older.  She hasn't seen this yet, so I don't know if they're going to like it or not (not to mention that anything that has 'Creator' in it can be really hit or miss), and, either way, I like it a great deal.  It's not a 'rough draft', and if you have suggestions, I am open to commentary as to how to develop it a bit more.  Otherwise, just enjoy. :)

From The Day You Were Born
By K.K.Faulkins (that's me :))

“Grandpa, how do I learn how to be brave?”

“The same way your mother and father and learned, and your grandmother and I before them.”

“How’s that?”

He motioned me over, sitting down and leaning back, enjoying the warm summer sun across his face.

“Come, sit, I’ll tell you the story. “

--

“There are many ways that we learn to be brave… When we sit through the thunder, when we wait out the rain… Sometimes we learn by watching others, like the lizard, patiently re-growing his tail.  But, on the day you were born, that is when your mother and father began to learn how to be bravest of all.”

“What do you mean, grandpa?”

“On the day you were born, you were very, very small; so small that you could not raise your head even to look around.  The world is a wide, wide place, and yet there you were, safe and quiet and peaceful in your parents’ arms.

On the day you were born, you were not afraid.  You began to help your parents remember.”

“Remember what, grandpa?”

“At the moment that each of us comes into this world, too young to see as we see today, to speak as we do in our language – before we are able to do any of the things that we do as we grow, we know in our hearts all of the things that we will need.  When we are infants, we love fully, we trust will all of our hearts, we have bravery, and strength, and courage, fortitude, kindness, compassion, forgiveness, acceptance, and peace.  We know the care of the world around us, and we hold on to the truth of it as we begin our journey.  It is as we grow older that so many of us may begin to forget.”

“But why do we forget that, Grandpa?  Why can’t we just have them, always?”

My grandpa took a stick in his hand, smiling softly as he drew a hoop in the dirt.

“If I were to draw a line through a piece of this circle, would that line mark the beginning, or the end?”

“…Both.”

He nodded.

“When the seasons come on our Earth, what happens?”

“They change… Winter with the snow and storms, then Spring with the thaw and flowers, Summer with the sun, and then Fall, with the wind and colored leaves.”

“And then?”

“Then it’s going to be Winter again.”

“Exactly.  Our lives are like this too.”

He drew three more lines, spaced evenly around the circle.

“First, we are young. Then, we are grown. Then, we reach middle age. And then, we are elders.”

“Yes, but why must we forget the things, when we are born with knowing?”

“We’ll get there, young one, we’ll get there.  Each hoop of life is more than just a curved line.  Each year is its own separate circle of learning – our own Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter – and each time we conclude, we move forward.  We forget what we are born with, not only so that we can move along our own hoop, but to help others move along theirs.”

“I don’t understand, Grandpa.”

“When your mother was born, and I held her for the first time, I took a step along in learning just how deeply I am able to love.  As she grew older, and it was time for her to walk, I had to grow as well, and let her stumble.  There were times when she was angry with me, and I had to be able to look at my actions – was I choosing boundaries for her out of fear of letting go, or out of love? There were many times where I had to learn to forgive myself, and trust that so long as I was putting my actions into the hands of the Creator, that things are exactly as they should be. I have raised her with your Grandmother, and she has grown into a wonderful woman, and I thank the Creator every day for the gift that she is in my life, just as your parents give thanks for you. We have each been helped along our journey not only by our elders, but by those who come after us.  I have remembered how to love while letting go, and that has been the greatest lesson in bravery of all. You are already brave, little one, you must only remember that you are.”