Very Fragile--Please Touch

There's a short stack of really old books, prettily arranged on the table in the living room at my parents' house. It's been there as long as I can remember.

They are old, family heirloom books, most with sweet inscriptions written on the title pages dating back to 1926. They are very fragile. But they are not just for decoration. They are for opening and reading and in the case of Miss Sniff, touching.

Miss Sniff, the fuzzy cat, is really fuzzy. She's been touched by so many fingers over the years that her black velvety furr is pretty matted and worn. But she's still the fanciest cat on the block.

Originally published in 1945. 

My all-time favorite is Mother Earth's Children. 

Someone (my mother) took the touching a little too far and actually wrote on the book. Not good. But the thought of my mom as a naughty little girl, adding doodles of her own to this book makes me smile.

Each vegetable and fruit has its own little verse.

This was my grandmother's favorite. She marked it so we would never forget. 

Then there's Winkle, Twinkle and Lollypop. 

Winkle, Twinkle, and Lollypop are three triplets who get to meet Mr. Sun and Mrs. Night, and Mr. Wind, too. 

The girls and I sat down together this morning and read these books aloud to each other--just like my grandmother and my great aunt did 80 some years ago, and my mother and grandmother after that, and my mom and me even later.

They get more and more fragile over the years, but continue to touch our lives.