PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

I will always be beholden to children…

they are where some of my gratitude stems…

Because they remind me every day…

If we want our children to love and show care for others….

we must first love and show care for them

As adults when we look out on our world

and pain and sadness are all we see

we need only look upon our children

to restore our faith in humanity 

And remember how children are accepting and generous…

how we see the kindness in their eyes 

and how they know nothing of prejudice and hate…

unless we teach them otherwise.

Today I’m grateful for understanding it is within our power

to see every child as a different and beautiful kind of flower

And if onto every flower…our love we equally bestow…

imagine the beautiful garden…all that love will grow.

I remember a blessing we were given as first-time parents…

that became our parental battle cry:

Together may you give your children roots to grow and wings to fly.

But having been parents and grandparents for a while now

we’ve come to realize two things…

about those gifts we give our children…about their roots and wings.

Our thinking has evolved as each year into the next year blends

when we realized giving birth to their roots and wings 

is not where those gifts should end.

Their roots that tie them to the Earth and to our family

need to be nurtured every day with love, with kindness and humility…

to help them grow into the kind of person they were created…

they were born to be.

And they must be taught how to use their wings

that it’s our job to introduce them to the sky.

to foster in them the curiosity, the strength, the determination

and the confidence to fly. 

It’s not always as easy as it sounds…

sometime it can be downright difficult to do…

but when you are successful we’ve found this to be true:

If you find a way to nurture their roots

and show them all the things their wings can do…

They will remember the roots you nurtured

and with the wings you helped them develop

they will find their way back to you. 

There is an innocence in life to which every child brings…

before their brains become too cluttered with all those adult things.

It is a lovely place where wide-eyed children dwell.

Where, if we listen, their innocence can be profound as well.

A grandma was grocery shopping with her grandson

when in the produce department, she grabbed a peach.

because if you know anything about Grandmas…you know Grandmas love to teach.

Next she picked up an apple, a pear and then a plum.

then asked her grandson, “Do you know where all this food comes from?”

He knew his grandma loved puzzles…he had fallen for her tricks before…

“Grandma, that’s an easy one.” He said. “They come from inside this store.”

Then this grandma and her grandson through the produce section they walked around.

and she told him all these fruits and vegetables are grown out of the ground.

She said they are grown on farms…by farmers…with the help of the rain and sun.

then asked her grandson expectantly, “How would you like to visit one?”

Her grandson thought about the question…thought about the lesson she was teaching too

and came up with the perfect answer…as children are wont to do.

His favorite food was neither fruits nor vegetables…so with all his innocence and charm 

He said, “Grandma, I have a better idea.  Can we go to a pizza farm?”

Grandma chuckled when she realized her lesson on farming fell so flat…

then smiled as she wondered…why didn’t I ever think of that!

When I think about this story…

I think about childhood innocence and how and where that innocence began.

and I wish all children were allowed to keep that innocence 

for as long as they possibly can.

How I wish we could do more to help hungry children, 

children in the midst of war…

children who are unwittingly put into the path of harm…

How I wish they only thing these children had to think about 

was visiting a pizza farm.

May we be blessed to nurture our children’s wings

So when they don’t need our constant guidance anymore

Not only will they be ready to fly…

they’ll be ready to soar.

Today I’m grateful to revisit the words of L. R. Knost…

She wrote:

It’s not our job to toughen our children up

to face a world that is heartless and cruel…

It is our job to raise children,

who will make the world a little less heartless and cruel.

To all those who don’t think what’s happening In this country is evil or bizarre…

A reminder of the duties to our children…PLEASE…remember who you are…

We have a duty to all the children of the world from the moment of their birth…

A duty to make them feel safe and happy while they walk upon this Earth.

A duty to teach them right from wrong…how to respect the land, the plants, the birds

A duty to show them our actions will always be more important than our words.

A duty to show them kindness and love…to help them grow, mature and cope.

A duty to teach them about friendship, honor, justice and to fill their world with hope.

A duty to show them things that need to be changed…and things they must accept.

A duty to show them all life is precious…and that promises need to be kept.

A duty to help them handle their mistakes and failures…

to show them good manners are never outdated…

A duty to show them that tenderness, love and charity can never be overrated.

A duty to allow their imaginations to soar…

to show them it is courageous to say when they’re wrong.

A duty to teach them compassion, caring and compromise 

are ways of showing they are strong.

Our final duty is to teach them every human being is important 

and deserves respect…no matter their sex, gender, color or race.

And when we choose to fulfill these duties 

the world is a more peaceful and beautiful place.

Perhaps the best reason to fulfill our duties to the children of the world

from the moment of their birth…

Is so they’ll be ready when they grow up to fulfill these duties

for the next generation of children 

as they walk upon this Earth.

Have you ever wondered why we love reading bedtime stories to our children

once they pray to God their soul to keep?

It’s more than, as parents, we are tired and we’d like to get some sleep.

It’s a wonderful moment at the end of the day

when the world slows down a tad

a quiet, intimate moment between a child, Mom and Dad.

We sit together on the bed…whatever trials and tribulations of the day are freed

as we wait with baited breath…for the story we’re about to read. 

It’s like the bed is a roller coaster…and we’re all strapped in there

knowing sometimes we’ll have to hold on tight

while other times we’ll raise our arms high in the air.

We don’t know what’s in store…what pitfalls we’ll have to weather….

dragons, pirates, ogres, witches…we will face them all…together.

We enter each page hand-in-hand 

unaware as to which way our imaginations will be bending

and knowing the heroes are depending on us to help them reach a happy ending.

And when we finish the story…that might not be the end

because there is a good chance we’ll be asked to read it all again.

When their eyes finally close we gently rise, quietly turn out the light

we pull their blankets up, tuck them in and kiss their head…good night.

We stop at the door, we turn, we smile 

knowing this story, like all bedtime stories, was much more that is seems….

It’s about love and family and sharing a moment together with our child

and…teaching them to dream.