Puff, the Magic Dragon

My parents loved Peter, Paul, and Mary. I remember watching their special everytime it was on PBS, and us singing together as a family. It's one of my favorite memories. My dad wasn't the best singer in the world, but I remember sitting at his feet and listening to him sing along to the songs with tears in his eyes, and I would cry too, just because I knew how much the songs meant to my dad. I couldn't wait until Puff, the Magic Dragon would come on. I loved that song! (And I know there are theories about alternative meanings of the song, but it will always just be a song about a dragon and his boy to me, just to clear THAT up!) I would sing the song along with the TV, and my parents. They would sing it to me on many occasions. I loved hearing about that dragon and imagining what it would be like to have a dragon of my own. Then, they bought me the animated movie. I remember how excited I was. I climbed onto my parents bed fresh out of bath and in my jammies and we started the movie. It was just like the song. Jackie Paper was a little boy who had a dragon visit. He went on many adventures with Puff. He made a boat to float to Honalee. They played with pirates. They met kings and princes. It was the best story ever. And then, Jackie Paper "grew up" but in the movie he just left Puff. I remember sitting on my mom's bed and crying, sobbing really. How sad that Jackie had to grow up! Why didn't he want to play with Puff anymore? Why did I have to grow up? I sobbed into my mom and dad's arms...not wanting to ever have to grow up. Tonight, in our nightly reading homework, Amelia and I didn't plan for the long weekend and we didn't have enough fairy books to cover all three days! So, I told the girls that we would each pick a story off of the book shelf. Amelia chose Franklin Goes to the Hospital. Emerson picked Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? And I found the Puff, the Magic Dragon book I had purchased at our book fair many years ago. I had not read it to my girls yet and I was so excited. We read the girls' books first, and then I pulled out Puff. I read the title and Amelia's face lit up. "A book about dragons? Cool!" I smiled at her and turned to the first page. As I read the first line, "Puff, the Magic Dragon lived by the sea..." I couldn't help but want to sing the song. "Girls, this book is a song. Do you want me to sing it? Or read it?" "Sing it!" they both chimed at the same time. So, I started into the story singing the lines. The tune came back, my heart filled with memories, and a smile came across my face. The girls listened intently as I turned page after page. Amelia's eyes filled with wonder as she saw the scenes of pirate ships, and kings...a sailboat with billowed sails. And then I turned the page. The next line caused my voice to catch "A dragon lives forever, but not so little girls and boys. Painted wings and giants' rings make way for other toys." I paused, trying to regain my composure and read the next lines. "One grey night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more, And Puff, that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar." and I lost it. I went back to that time sitting on my mom's bed, remembering how sad I felt for Puff. And now, being the adult sitting on my bed surrounded by my children, the meaning of the book was even deeper for me. We grow up! We move on! We have to be adults! And it's sad and hard to leave those things behind. But then, the joy of children! We get to experience it again. It didn't make the book any less emotional for me. In fact, it make it more emotional, because now I was the parent not wanting my children to grow up. Peter Yarrow, from Peter, Paul, and Mary, is the author of this book. And he does a wonderful thing with the book! At the end, as the last chorus is written out, the illustrations show a little girl, coming to bring Puff out of his cave and play, and standing in the background is her father, Jackie Paper! This brings us to our just one more thing, mommy moment. I was tucking Amelia into bed for the night, and I turned out the light and Amelia said, "Just one more thing please mommy?" I smiled and paused at her door, like always. "What's that, Amelia?" "Why did you start crying when you were reading us that dragon book?" "Well, for several reasons, Amelia. Puff, the Magic Dragon was one of mommy's favorites when she was little. It was such a good memory for mommy with Pa and MomMom that I couldn't hold the tears back when I was singing. "What else?" "Well, it makes me sad for Puff and for Jackie Paper that Jackie had to grow up! Puff missed his friend Jackie and that makes me cry." "What else, mommy?" "Well, it also makes me a little bit sad that you and Emerson are growing up so fast! I love listening to you both play with your toys, and imagine, and create, and dream of fairies and princesses and dragons. Reading the book and seeing Jackie Paper grow up made me sad, but then I cried happy tears when Jackie brought his daughter back to meet Puff. Because even though he grew up, he shared his childhood memories with his little girl." "Mommy! That's just like us!" "What do you mean, Amelia!" "Well, you used to like Puff when you were a little girl. And you had to grow up. When's the last time you watched the Puff movie?" "Hmm...I was probably 13 or so..." "And now, you have me and you have Em and you're reading the Puff book to us! You're just like Jackie Paper, and we're just like his daughter. You're bringing magic to us even though you're a grown up." "Wow...I guess you're right, Amelia! I'm glad I get to share this with you. It means a lot to me." "I know. Isn't it nice that mommies have babies so they can keep being kids over and over again?" I smiled at her, kissed her forehead, and told her she was exactly right. And isn't she? I know that as a mommy, I am loving playing with my girls and sharing with them the things that I used to do when I was little. And she's right in that having babies is the best way to still be a kid! I get to play, and imagine, and create, right along side my babies! I get to pretend. I get to be a princess, or play My Little Pony, or put together plays about dragons and fairies. And I get to do all of those things just because I'm a mom! What an honor! So, what memories do you have of your childhood that you would like to pass on to your kids? Is it Puff? If there another story? Is there a game? After Jackie Paper leaves, the book reads, "His head was bent in sorrow, green scales fell like rain. Puff no longer went to play along the cherry lane. Without his lifelong friend, Puff could not be brave. So Puff, that mighty dragon, sadly slipped into his cave." Think about life for a second. Think about life without your children. I can't even imagine where I would be if I didn't have those two precious little people. Puff couldn't handle it without Jackie. He was heartbroken...devasted. But then, he returned with his daughter and the cycle continued! Continue that cycle! Share with your children. Reading the story, having the conversation with Amelia, and reflecting on it now fills my heart with joy! I get to share this piece of me with my girls. My eyes fill with tears of joy just typing those words out! What an honor! What a position to be put in! What a job to have! I am thankful that God entrusted Amelia and Emerson to me...and I am thankful that I have these moments, for while they are little I hope they go to Honalee often with me, and continue the cycle when they become mommas. What a gift! Thank you, to Peter, Paul, and Mary, for giving us something to share among the generations in my family!