A Favorite Childhood Memory

The kids have off of school today and the weather is pretty blustery making visibility terrible so, we are indoors and going through their rooms in search of things to get rid of...I love to do this every couple of months...The more we de-clutter the better!:) And, of course, they keep growing so we have to go through their clothes.:) That part they are not very fond of....hehehe. So, in the midst of going through Vanessa's books, we found my favorite book from when I was a little girl. The book is called Fairy Tales and it is in very delicate condition. The covers are worn, pages are torn out in the beginning and the binding is taped to keep it together. There is not a single page in the book or a word on the cover to tell you who wrote it, published it, the year it was published or anything...so it has become a mystery book of sorts. But, what is in the book, is the contents and the checkmark beside my favorite story and at the top of the page I wrote "49 the picture". That was my favorite picture ever and I would look at it everyday and fantasize about my prince.

What I didn't realize at the time is how much I loved that book, that story, that picture. So, when my dad and stepmom gave me this book as an adult, I almost wept because I was so happy to see it, I LOVED that they kept it for me all of these years. I simply could not wait to pass it on to Vanessa but it's fragile state made it almost impossible for her to read it without me helping hold it together. So, we stuck it on a shelf and never really read it. Today, when she brought it out, I decided to go online and see if I could find it and it took about 20 minutes but I finally did. I had to type in what it looked like and that it is vintage and the characters on the front and voila, I found ONE, on E-bay. Now, I have to make the decision, do I buy the one on E-bay that is in much better shape than mine or re-tape mine and see how she does with it. On one hand I want to give her the better shaped book but I feel it will take away from "passing on" this childhood memory....

The front cover

the back cover

                                                                         the tape spine

The inside contents

the picture

my checkmark and "49 the picture"