In a Land Called Honnelly

Cole received the book "Puff the Magic Dragon" at his school Christmas party and I read it to the kids yesterday for the first time.  It's just the lyrics from the song put to pictures, so I actually "sang" the book.  When I got to the part where Jackie Paper grows up...

A dragon lives forever but not so little boys
Painted wings and giant rings make way for other toys.
One grey night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more
And Puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar.

His head was bent in sorrow, green scales fell like rain,
Puff no longer went to play along the cherry lane.
Without his life-long friend, Puff could not be brave,
So Puff that mighty dragon sadly slipped into his cave.

...Cole asked me why Jackie Paper left Puff. I told him Jackie Paper grew up and didn't believe in dragons anymore. I then finished the rest of the book. When I started to close it, Cole asked, "Mom, will Jackie Paper ever come back?" I could hear the tears in his voice. I turned my head and looked at my beautiful little boy, who, with a quivering lip, was staring at the ceiling trying not to let the tears fall from his eyes. I couldn't help but tell him that, yes, I'm sure he came back. And I started to get teary-eyed, too. Teary-eyed because I love this little sensitive man sitting next to me who could sense the sadness and loss in this song even at such a tender age. Teary-eyed because I understand being overcome with such emotion and being too little to understand it and I love that we can share these feelings in common. And teary-eyed because he, too, will grow up one day and leave the magical land of Honnelly, the land of wonder, excitement and innocence. The land where everything is possible and you view the world through eyes of belief rather than doubt. The land where he is my sweet little boy who wants to give me five million kisses when I drop him off at school. Somedays I wish he could stay in that land forever.