Moon Girl

"Oh look at the moon;
A shining up there ,
Oh darlin' it looks like a lamp in the air...
Last week it was small;
And shaped like a bow,
But now it is big
And it's round like an "O"..."


When my daughter was very tiny she fell in love with the moon. She would sit beside me in the porch swing at night, fresh from her bath in her nightgown, hair in damp ringlets against her cheek and we would sing the "Moon" song as well as others: "Harvest Moon", and "By the Light of the Silvery Moon". We would take her out into the yard so she could see it; sometimes merely a sliver of white, easily jumped by the famous cow and other times a perfect ball of orange, glowing like a Jack-O-Lantern on a crisp October night.

When her fascination for this illuminating wonder continued, I went to the store and purchased some yellow cotton material. From it I fashioned a crescent moon with bright eyes and a crooked smile. "Mooney" went everywhere - from her crib to the swings, vacations and restaurants. No matter where we went, Mooney went too. She would take him outside on clear moonlit nights and show him to his counterpart, nestled just above the trees. It was an enchanting and precious love affair.

Over the years we added Mama and Baby moon, and the trio went from crib to twin bed with the arrival of our own new baby. Eventually, her love for the moon was replaced by the adventures shared with her little brother and the similarly colored orange cat named Oliver. Story books such as "Goodnight Moon" and "Moon Boy" were shelved and the brilliant orb seemed to shut out his light and fade from her heart.

Several months ago we were going through some boxes in storage when she came across her moon family. "Look!" she cried, holding them up and wiping the dust from the worn fabric. "I've been wondering about these." She laid them gently in the seat of the car and when we got home, took them to her room where they once again shine. A bit faded now, stuffing pushing through little tears in the material and embroidery thread missing in places, they hold residence in a stranger's room; a teenage girl with different things and new dreams. Looking at them brings back so many memories, and those nights on the front porch resonate through my mind as I remember the little girl who had not only the world, but also......the moon.