When I Was In Second Grade

When I was in second grade, I found a book called the Box Car Children. It was the story of three children, an older brother and sister, and a younger brother. They had a nice dog too! They had been orphaned and were to go to live with their grandfather. They were afraid of him and didn't want to live with him and ran away. On the edge of a town on an abandoned railroad spur was an old box car. They made the box car their nice little home and made their surroundings nicer and more fun! They went to school and were clean and not starving. No one knew they lived all by themselves because they were doing so well!

Then I had this wonderful idea! I could run away, with a whole new wardrobe of clothes appropriate for an 8 year girl and live in a cave just outside a town where no one would know me! I could go to school and no one would know. I could be just like the Box Car Children!! I look back in real amusement at how sweet but impossible that idea was. I even put some planning towards it! I looked through the Sears and JC Penny catalogues so I would know what clothes I liked and to buy so I could do this. I even looked at a Virginia map! I saw some cities near by, but I didn't see any caves on the maps, so maybe that's why I never did that.

 My heart goes out to the little girl back then. Who was going to feed this poor little waif? How was she going to keep her clothes clean and who was going to hold her and tell her everything was fine and she was safe when she was scared? Who was going to take care of her if her tummy hurt?

Then I think about her vision for becoming herself and I'm so proud of her! For even then, at that young age, she was trying to figure how to get where I am today. And she only thought about how much better it would be than to be where she was, even back then. As she grew up, she never really gave up, and here she is today! And now I'm feeling kind of proud of that little girl too!