In her 84th
year, Amy Peck sensed that her time was growing short. Winter would soon arrive and death with
it. While she still remained in her
small house, Amy examined her imposing bookcase. It held so much of her life.
The bottom shelf was
weighted down with books from her college years when she first studied to
become a medical doctor. Circumstances
forced her to become a pharmacist. Amy
brushed her hands along them. Organic
Chemistry. Pharmaceutics. Advanced Mathematics. Biology and Anatomy. Heavy tomes even then, but these books were
as concrete now.
The next row contained
collections of sermons given by William Spurgeon, 1887. These Amy inherited from her mother-in-law,
Laura A. Peck. Perhaps she treasured
these books more than the first row?
The third shelf up
was a collection of books given to her over the years from family. Knowing that Amy was a voracious reader with
a questing mind, family had chosen carefully from contemporary publications.
The final shelf was
Amy’s favored book shelf. It held the
treasured books of poetry, her Bibles, journals of poetry she had written,
photographs carefully placed in small albums…the representation of her life
that was most accessible.
It was here that Amy
Peck began the last part of her literary journey. She pulled volume by volume out, one at a
time. Opening the musty cover with a pen
poised over the fly-leaf, Amy considered the book. Then she wrote.
“To Susan With love from, Grandma Read and enjoy these words that meant so
much to me”
Amy worked her way
down the bookshelf with the help of her daughter Helen. When the books were all assigned to people
whom she felt believed would love them best, Amy felt was pleased; her journey was almost over.
She had sent her beloved books forward, like
precious gifts.
Will this happen in
the future? Will my grandchild hold one
of my favorite books with her name “To….From….” written with love? Will her child hold a grandmother’s treasured
Treasure Island and appreciate that her grandma knew she would love each
word?
Kinda hard to do with
a Kindle.
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