Anna Resurget

We often speculate about what is happening with Anna now that she is with the Lord. Often times, it concerns Anna meeting someone new in heaven. She died almost exactly one year to the day before my mother passed, so we thought much at that time about their reunion together with the Lord.

A few days ago I read the news that Beverly Cleary died. She was 104 years old. If you don’t know who Beverly Cleary is, it is because you don’t have children. Every parent knows the creator of Henry Huggins and the two sisters, Beezus and Ramona. Cleary was a librarian who was disappointed with the state of juvenile literature and so began writing books of her own, that have become award-winning classic literature in that genre.

Anna loved her books. These were among those early “chapter books” that Anna read. And boy did she read. I often tell the story of her bedtime ritual. She read so long at night when she went to bed that we had to make a lights-out time. Also, since she didn’t know exactly what she wanted to read, she would bring stacks of books to bed with her. So we instituted the “five-book” rule. She had to pick five books to read that night and could only read those.

So she would choose, for instance, five of the Ramona books and climb into bed. And this is where it gets fascinating. Anna did not simply pick up one book and start reading. That would be far too simple. No, she would choose one book and read the first chapter of it. Then she would set it aside and go on to the next and read the first chapter of it. And then on to the next book, until she had finished the first chapter of each book. Then she would go to the first book and read chapter two, and so on through all five books. So she would finish five books at night reading all of them at the same time.

She was a fast reader.

We were on an airplane once. I was sitting in an aisle seat next to an older woman, while Timberley and the kids had three seats in the middle section next to me. I noticed the woman opened her bag and took out a children’s book and began reading. I thought that was odd, so I asked her about her books. She was a reading teacher in Chicago and she enjoyed reading juvenile literature. I told her that my two children really enjoyed reading, and she offered one of her books for Anna to read on the plane. I handed it to Timberley and on down the line until it reached Anna. She was quite excited to see a new book.

About 30 minutes later, I don’t remember exactly, Timberley tapped me on the arm, handed me the book back and said that Anna wants to know if there is another. I relayed the message to my new friend. She said, “Oh, didn’t she like this one?”

“I think so, but she’s done and wants to read another book,” I explained.

“What do you mean? She didn’t finish the whole book. Did she read the first chapter?”

“Let me check.” I turned to get Anna’s attention. “Anna, did you finish the book?”

“Yes,” she answered. “I liked it. Is there another?”

I turned back to the woman next to me. She just had a blank stare. “She finished the whole book? But it’s only been 30 minutes (or whatever the time was).” She paused and then looked at me very seriously. “This is very unusual.”

*****

I imagine that meeting Beverly Cleary might be a little like meeting this woman on the plane. She would have four or five books in her bag, just in case she had some time. And she would be fascinated and thrilled by this little girl that would speed read through five of her books at once.

I also imagine that Anna would invite her to join the table for tea. She would introduce her to my mother. She might find a funny hat and a scarf in case Ms. Cleary didn’t have her own. Then she would clap her hands together and call out in her feigned British accent for Maid Nesty to bring them tea.

“Oh dear. Where is Maid Nesty?” But Timberley is not there yet. She will have to get her own tea in the meantime.

Anna, I hope your birthday is a good one and that in this eternity with the Lord, you will also have an eternity talking to others and enjoying one another. I hope you enjoy getting to know Ms. Cleary.

We do continue to miss you.