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{Straight From the Heart} *Letter To My Little Girl* 3/31/00
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A Letter to My Little Girl
By: Bob Poole
Dear Teresa;
Your Mother has gone to the store for a few things, and I am sitting
alone, and thinking of my problems.... Yes, I said problems. But as I
sit and think, you seemed somewhat depressed this afternoon, and my
thoughts turned to you. These are better thoughts, and trying to think
of some way that I could cheer you, because of my love for you, my
mind turned to Scripture. What better way to have good thoughts than
thoughts of Scripture? All at once, I thought of a Scripture verse in
Phil. 4:8.
"...Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever
things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be
any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." TLB.
As I thought of this scripture verse, my thoughts again turned to you,
and some of our special times together. I thought a few minutes and
made a few notes, and I came up with these thoughts.
"It was a cold day and getting close to midnight. I stood by your
mother's bed and held her hand, rubber her stomach and waited as
patiently as possible for our little girl to be born. She was born
just before the stroke of midnight, December 31, 1955.
She was so tiny and so soft, and just a few days later, we took this
little bundle of "joy" to our rented house on "Love Street", in Mexico,
MO. We named her Teresa Rae, but to me, she was "Daddy's George."
A few short months passed, and we moved to Fayetteville, AR. Oh, how
quickly our little girl grew. We learned to play ball, and how to make
a hula hoop stay around your waist. We would go to the pond and feed
the ducks. We went to church at the Methodist Church and our fellowship
at the church was great, camping and fishing. I don't remember catching
any fish, but we had much family fun together.
In 1959, we moved to Akron, OH. Here your brother, Tom, started to
school, and the school was near. We would go to the playground and
slide down the smooth slides and climb the monkey bars, play ball and
tumble in the grass.
We did not stay long in any location, and in 1960, we moved to Muncie,
IN. Oh! How fast our little ones grew. Here, Daddy's George started to
school. She was the loveliest first grader in Indiana, NO EXCEPTIONS.
While we lived in Indiana, Mom worked in the hospital, and dad tried
to cook for you and Tom. I was not a good cook, but I could scramble
eggs. Sometimes, we would put in some cheese, maybe others some peppers,
etc., just to change the taste a little. My little girl really liked
these eggs.
Here in Muncie, you became sensitive about being called "George", by
everyone except your Dad. This was very special to me. You even would
tell people that you were "Daddy's George." This was a father-daughter
relationship that I will always remember and cherish. Thank you for
this memory.
Do you remember the rings that you picked out for every student in
your class? I'm sorry that we had to take the rings back to the store,
but thank you for understanding.
Do you remember the Ferris Wheel? Tom would not ride with you, but you
talked the that man into letting you ride in those shaky, swaying seats,
and rode that jolly old wheel around and around. Oh my, how proud you
were.
In 1965, we moved to Hazard, KY. We bought a boat, and you learned to
water ski. What about the Christmas that Dad bought Mom a new
dishwasher. You seemed so happy until I told you that we would have to
send it back because the man delivered it to the wrong house. I have
always been a tease, and I'm sorry I made you cry. I love you for
being so sensitive. Daddy's George is growing up, lovely as ever,
sweet as ever, and always Daddy's George.
Still another move in 1968 - this time to Lexington, KY. Here our
young lady goes to Junior High School, Senior High, learns to drive.
Do you remember Jr. / Sr. skip day? Do you remember Bobs Knob? Do you
remember the little MG and you standing there in that bright yellow
dress? What is your best memory of eating at "Blue Boor?"
She is dating and growing into womanhood. And oh, yes, falling in
love... Do you remember Steve? Can you remember the wonderful times
we spent at the Church here? The camp-outs? Do you remember falling
in love with Jesus Christ? remember how pleasant the feeling, the
experience. I can see you even now and I remember how your face glowed.
Now, it is 1972, and we move again. This time to Stanford, KY, and
Tom did not move with us, but he did help us with the move. He chose
to work in Lexington and live and work there.
On moving day, with boxes everywhere, we sat in the living room floor
and had some hamburgers. I remember Tom trying to rhyme a song with
his guitar about the little bitty, gritty hamburgers from Scotties.
Here you, your Mom and I all work together. For me this was a very
rewarding and pleasant relationship. One that I will never forget.
Here our beautiful daughter, our young lady, grew into womanhood. For
the first time in 18 years, this young lady asked me not to call her
"George". I forgot a few times, but I will always remember the special
relationship with my Little Girl. But you accepted this with good
spirits. I should have known that she was growing up.
Do you remember Steve, and the cheese Pizzas? Well, these are high
school romances anyway. Then there was the man who stole my young
lady's heart. His name was Jimmy, and they were married in June 1974.
How she beamed as she walked down the aisle and stood in front of the
church. It was extremely hard for me go give her away. The only
consolation that I had was that this was a silly custom, and this
beautiful young lady would always in my mind be Daddy's George.
My how time flies, and one bright August morning in 1975, my little
girl gave birth to another lovely, lovely little lady. She was named
Kelley Anne. I knew this sweet little baby was a part of me, and I
think back just 20 years earlier when you were born.
I think of this as a great promotion in my life. God in his infinite
wisdom allowed your mother and I to be parents, and now, my sweet,
precious little girl, with the help of our wonderful Heavenly Father
has now promoted us to GRANDPARENTS.
What happy days those were when you brought Kelley Anne to stay a few
days with us. I remember holding a piece of peppermint tightly and
letting her lick and suck that sweet candy. How sweet the memory and
how time flies.
But in our lives, some sadness must come. Tom, our son, your brother
passed on. There were so many heart aches and tears. Pain that does
not seem ever to go away. But our life must go on. We do have this
sweet little one that is still with us. Oh, how much I love that
little one.
Memory grows shorter as we grow older, but now we have Great
grandchildren. Michael is almost four, and Mackenzie is one. How sweet
and precious they are. How wonderful life is to have those lovely
little ones near. To see them, talk with them, to watch them grow.
Who knows, maybe we will live to see other lovely, sweet little ones
in our family. Maybe we could become Great, Great Grandparents. This
is a lovely though also.
I have rambled somewhat, but do you remember at the beginning of this
letter, I was thinking of my problems? No more, I am thinking of how
very much I have been blessed in my lifetime. Yes, beginning with
meeting your mother, our two lovely children, then Kelley Anne, and
now Michael, and Mackenzie. I think I would like to close this letter
with the Scripture reprinted, so we can be reminded to have good
thoughts and to give credit where credit is due. To our Precious
Heavenly Father.
"...Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever
things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be
any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (TLB)
Just your Dad.
Bob Poole
bnjp@kycom.net
Make sure you send Bob an email and let him know what you thought about his letter!
A little bit about Bob:
I have been retired since 1988, but our medical expenses have been
very expensive lately, and now I am working as a receptionist (4 hours a
day, 5 days a week.) at a local factory. We will celebrate our 50th wedding
anniversary August 10, We had two beautiful children, one deceased. Have
one grand daughter, and two great grand children. I have never written for
anyone except for myself and family. I am not a writer, but have pleasant
thoughts, and I enjoy life. There is not much to say about myself,
except I do love the Lord, and sending out good, touching e-mail to
friends.
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Thought For The Day:
"Money is a very excellent servant, but a terrible master."
(P.T. Barnum)
Verse for the Day:
"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant
nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put
their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our
enjoyment."
1 Timothy 6:17
Kid's Thought For The day:
"Wait for your little sister."
Parent's Thought For The Day
"Prepared childbirth is a contradiction in terms."
(Joyce Armor)
Coach's Thought For The Day
"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on,
however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those
who have been trained by it."
(Hebrews 12:11)
Deep Thought For The Day:
If I ever get another dog, I am going to name him "Stay." Come here,
Stay. Should be fun to watch his indecision.
_
/_/\/\ MICHAEL T. POWERS
\_\ / THUNDER27@aol.com http://members.aol.com/Thunder27/index.html
/_/ \ "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but
\_\/\ \ Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live for the Son
\_\/ of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20
Video Imagery (Michael's Video Production Business)
"I thought of you first after my family sat down to watch the video
we gave them. They loved it, to say the least! Within thirty
seconds my mom was crying and my dad did too. They said it was
the best Christmas gift we could have given them!! You did such
a beautiful job! They were so suprised and so touched---they
really, really, really loved it. Thanks for helping to make it so
special to us all. My mom mentioned how the songs were perfect for
the video too! Thanks again!"
Kelli (RKaGe@aol.com) College Station, TX
Let me make you a video from your pictures or home movies!
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