Carlee's Never-Ending Quests

CARLEE’S NEVER-ENDING QUESTS

Carl and Leanne were overjoyed the day they learned they were going to become parents. They didn’t know if the baby would be a boy or a girl; quite frankly, they didn’t care! Carl and Leanne immediately began a shopping spree in anxious expectation of their bundle of joy; they tried to anticipate the baby’s every material need.

The day finally arrived when Carlee, a bright-eyed, beautiful girl, was welcomed into the world. From the day of her birth onward, Carlee’s eyes seemed to try follow everyone and everything she saw. Carl and Leanne were quite impressed with how Carlee seemed to be awestruck by whatever her small eyes gazed upon. The only time Carlee’s eyes weren’t darting back, forth, up, down, gazing, was when she was sound asleep.

Carlee was quite a challenge when she began to crawl; she kept Carl and Leanne extremely busy. They were constantly taking things out of her tiny hands, or preventing her tiny hands from touching things altogether. Carlee’s wonderment exerted her senses of taste, smell—all of her natural senses. Whenever her parents intervened in one of Carlee’s perpetual investigative quests, they instinctively would say; “What’s that?” When Carlee began to talk, her first words were not “MaMa” or “DaDa”; her first words weren’t even close! Carlee’s first words sounded more like; “Wuh dat?”

From the time of Carlee’s birth, Carl and Leanne started reading short stories to her, however; Carlee began her scholastic education when she attended a pre-kindergarten program prior to her normal elementary school years. Carlee loved listening to stories and soon she began learning to read short, easy words, as well. Carlee’s parents encouraged her to read, read, read! When Carlee asked her parents one of her many endless questions, they gave her the best, most accurate answers they could provide. Carl and Leanne went a step further to find any age-appropriate books or other reading material for Carlee to read and dissect—dissect she would! As Carlee’s love for reading grew, she would read to get answers to some of her endless questions. This often resulted in more and more questions which in turn resulted in Carlee reading more and more!

Eventually, Carlee had so many books in her collection that her parents had a bookshelf built in her room that stretched from wall-to-wall, and towered more than six feet. Leanne assisted her precious daughter with neatly placing her treasured books onto the bookshelf. Any book Carlee had read in entirety was added to her bookshelf. Unless Carlee had completely finished reading a book, she kept it neatly tucked in a corner of her room on the floor until she was ready to place it onto her enormous bookshelf. Throughout the coming years, Carlee’s inquisitive personality never faltered, and her love for reading only gained momentum!

Several months before Carlee’s 18th birthday, her parents decided to give Carlee an early birthday present of their choosing. They took Carlee to a bookstore that was part of a major bookstore chain and told her to get whatever books she wanted; they did not give Carlee a spending limit. Carlee was like a child in a candy store; she was filled with desire and wide-eyed excitement! She selected a wide range of topics and a large number of books as well. Hesitantly, Carlee finished selecting her books; she had 21 books in total. It took the efforts of Carl, Leanne, and Carlee to get the books loaded into the car and into their home.

Within three months Carlee had read each and every book from cover to cover; she even read some of them at least twice! If Carlee had more than one unread book at the same time, it was her peculiar custom to always place them onto her bookshelf at the same time. She would place them onto her bookshelf only after they all had been thoroughly read. The day arrived when Carlee had read all 21 of her birthday books, and it was time to place them onto her bookshelf. As Carlee was about to place the first book of her 21-book collection onto her bookshelf, she noticed a small black notebook; it hadn’t been there before! Upon seeing it, Carlee’s lifelong curiosity instinct erupted—an instinct she displayed her entire life! She was absolutely certain she had not put the small black notebook there so she picked it up to thumb through the pages. When she opened the small black book, contained within the pages was a brief handwritten note which read: Our Dear Daughter, throughout the years, you have never ceased to amaze us with your inquisitive mind, your never-ending thirst for knowledge and understanding, and your unconditional LOVE for us! You’ll go far in life and we hope this helps you get there as YOU take charge of your life!!! The note was signed, “Mom”, by Carlee’s mom; it was also signed, “Dad”, by Carlee’s dad. As Carlee turned the next page, she saw a check handwritten in black ink for $20,000! The check was payable to Carlee Graham. It was entirely filled in except for the date. Gently penciled in the area where the date goes were the words: “Any date you choose!”