Runaway Bunny

  It’s been a while since I’ve blogged, but I was inspired by a colleague at my school, Keystone Academy, whose mom was a teacher and wrote a diary. It wasn’t regular, but now as an adult, these memories are not only precious memories but historical documentation of everyday life in a time and place. That seemed meaningful, and so I think I will try again. 

One of our best friends passed away this year. Life is precious and unpredictable, so making our time here meaningful is a worthwhile cause. Here’s my attempt to capture life, not daily but more regularly and meaningfully. 

So, in this returning entry, I’m inspired by a poem. A poem in Psalm 139 and by Margaret Wise Brown called Runaway Bunny. (Our Sunday gathering is going through a series on Psalms and today's psalm was 139.)

My bunnies have grown a lot over the years K is 15 now, M is 13 and little J just turned 9. K is really into sports, especially baseball and badminton, and M loves cooking. J is full of interests but has lately had a special attraction to dirt. He seems to perfectly define “ragamuffin” and has dirt stored in his fingernails, stuck in his hair and often smeared on his face as he’s eating. I hope his magnet for all things messy and dirty will soon pass, and I can hug him again without feeling sticky anymore.

But as I think about these poems today, I think of my bunnies and how they sometimes run away in their little directions, and I, as a mommy bunny, chase after them. I used to read Runaway Bunny, and I loved the dialogue between the little bunny wanting to be independent and do their own thing and the mommy bunny always being close by.

So he said to his mother, “I am running away.”

“If you run away,” said his mother, “I will run after you.

J sometimes tests his lying skills, but he's not very good at it. His tell is that he always pauses and doesn't answer when I ask him something point blank. "Did you brush your teeth today?" ...silence... "What?" 

“I will be a crocus in a hidden garden.”

“If you become a crocus in a hidden garden,” said his mother, “I will be a gardener. And I will find you.”

K sometimes has an aversion to things we suggest to him. "Why don't you try some colour in your wardrobe? It looks good on you."... "No!" ... "Why don't you try drama class?" ... "No!"

“I will be a bird and fly away from you.”

“If you become a bird and fly away from me,” said his mother, “I will be a tree that you come home to.”

M used to cry when things didn't go her way. She cried so loud and was never embarrassed. She doesn't cry as much anymore, but boy, can she be bossy! Especially to her brothers.

“I will become a little sailboat, and I will sail away from you.”

“If you become a sailboat and sail away from me,” said his mother, “I will become the wind and blow you where I want you to go.”

 I look forward to a time when not little bunnies will say:

“Shucks,” said the bunny, “I might just as well stay where I am and be your little bunny.”

 

I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
If I go down to the grave, you are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning,
If I dwell by the farthest oceans,
Even there, your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.  ~ Psalm 139:7-10