The Moon, The Tree, The Yard, and The Ladder

I see you're awake, Miss Eliza
That's fine, Mommy's awake too
I'm using these bi-hourly feedings
To get some reading done

Because of you
Mommy might be the only person in the entire world
Who has read the New Yorker
From cover to cover
Even the book reviews
Which are longer than the books
They're reviewing

All right, all right
Enough upper-class whining
Why don't I tell you a story?
Something boring
That'll soothe you back into sleeping
For at least twenty minutes
While I do this new thing I've learned
I think it's called 'crying from sheer exhaustion'

Well, anyway, once upon a time
Mommy was a teenage girl
Just like you're going to be one day
God help me
And she had a room that she shared with her older sister
Your Aunt Katherine
Until Katherine went to college
And then your Mommy had the whole room to herself
And she
Was
Thrilled

Her room overlooked the backyard
And there was this gorgeous tree
The kind of tree you build a treehouse in
But your grandfather never did
Because he had four daughters and no sons
And none of us were interested in climbing trees
Not even your Aunt Sarah
Who used to climb up on the roof
And jump off onto whatever looked bounciest

Aunt Sarah also happens to be the reason your grandmother
Takes anti-anxiety medication

So there's this big gorgeous tree
And every night, the moon would come out
And the moonlight would go through the branches of the tree
And there was a little ladder up against it, the tree
For absolutely no reason
Again, no tree house
Your grandfather just liked the way the ladder looked
Up against the tree

I liked it too

Especially the day I looked out the window
And saw your father
Sitting in that tree

He was the cutest boy in school
And I was the loudest girl
Every day I'd yell at him from across the hall
Asking him when he was going to ask me out
And he'd sort of...scurry away
Like a cowardly insect
Until finally I gave up on him

Then one night, he showed up
Sitting in that tree
No guitar
A guitar would have been nice
I told him that
Later
I said, 'What? You couldn't learn to play guitar for me?'
But I was just teasing
Sort of

Eliza, I hope one day
A boy you love
Before you know you love him
Shows up at night
Under the moon
Sitting in a tree
A tree with a ladder up against it

And I hope he takes that ladder
And moves it
Places it right underneath your window
And climbs up the ladder
Right up to your bedroom
Just to give you a kiss

And when he does--

I'll be waiting
For him

And he and I will have a nice chat

Then thirty years later
The two of you can get married
And have a little girl of your own
And you can tell her
All about it