Thoughts from the bottom of a beanstalk

Saturday, January 14th, 2012

Once upon a time there was a little boy named Jack who what about to climb his very first beanstalk. He had a fresh haircut and a brand new shirt. Even though his friends in the neighborhood had climbed this same beanstalk last summer, this was Jack’s first time and he was a little nervous. So was his mother.

Early in the morning she drove him to the foot of the beanstalk. She spoke encouragingly to Jack about all the fun he would have and how nice his giant would be. She reassured him that she would be back to visit. For a moment they stood silently holding hands, gazing up at the beanstalk. To Jack it seemed much bigger now. His mother thought it looked big, too. She swallowed. Maybe she should have held Jack out another year.

Jack’s mother straightened his shirt one last time, gave him a hug and smiled down at him. She promised to stay and wave while he started climbing. Jack didn’t say a word. He walked forward, grabbed a low-growing stem and slowly pulled himself up to the first leaf. He balanced there for a moment and then climbed more eagerly to the second leaf, then to the third, and soon he had vanished into a high tangle of leaves and stems with never a backward glance at his mother.

She stood alone at the bottom of the beanstalk, gazing up at the spot where Jack had disappeared. There was no rustle, no movement, no sound to indicate that he was anywhere inside. “Sometimes,” she thought, “it’s harder to be the one who waves good bye that it is to be the one who climbs the beanstalk.”

She wondered how Jack would do. Would he miss her? How would he behave? Did his giant understand that little boys sometimes acted silly when they felt unsure? She fought down an urge to spring up the stalk after Jack and maybe duck behind a bean to take a peek at how he was doing. “I’d better not. What if he saw me?” She knew Jack was old enough to handle this on his own. She reminded herself that, after all, this was an excellent beanstalk and that everyone said that his giant was not only kind, but had all the qualifications with an outstanding reputation.

“It’s not so much that I’m worried about him, " she thought, rubbing the back of her neck. "It’s just that he’s growing up and I’m going to miss him. "Jack’s mother turned to leave. “Jack’s going to have lots of bigger beanstalks to climb in his life,” she told herself. “Today’s the day he starts practicing for them. And today’s the day that I start something too – cheering him on and waving goodbye.”

Author Unknown