#parents
THEY ALWAYS THINK THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL
Every parent thinks their babies are beautiful
as they watch them play during the day
or sleep throughout the night.
and with a little encouragement from Mother Nature…
they know that they are right.
Why else would the sun send down a ray of light
all the way from outer space…
a single beam who’s only mission
is to highlight the beauty of their child’s face?
Why else when they walk by a garden with their baby
do the flowers stand up a little straighter…
The sunflower, the daffodil…the rose….
and why else would a lady bug rest upon their child’s shoulder
or a butterfly land upon their nose?
Why else would rabbits who normally when they see people coming
run away like crooks…
stop and stand on their hind legs…just to have a look.
Why else would the trees offer their children shade…
if they did not detect…
there is beauty in this child it is their duty to protect.
And why else while in their beds asleep…
In the darkness of the night…
would the moon shine through their windows
offering them a natural night light?
Yes, I know each parent will say…
“My babies are beautiful and will always be beautiful to me”
But isn’t also nice to know that the sun, the moon, the rabbits
the ladybugs and the butterflies agree.
BEFORE THEY COULD SING-BEFORE THEY COULD FLY
Most of my morning walks begin in silence…it’s just me and thoughts I turn into words.
but for a week, now, when I reach a particular tree I’m greeted by the song of a mockingbird.
Her song, which I like to think she’s singing just for me, is melodious and sweet…
and as I pass she flies in front of me and continues singing from a tree across the street.
So…for about a week every morning as I leisurely walk along…
I’ve stopped between these two trees so I can listen to her song.
As I listen to one of the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard
I think of how we human parents are similar to the parents of the mockingbird.
How we were there when our children were born (or hatched) to hear their initial cries…
How we knew them before they discovered how to sing…before they leaned to fly.
I wonder…do we each hold on to images…memories to which we cling…
of times before our children learned to fly…before they learned to sing?
And every day do we both feel proud we played a part in the songs our children sing…
that we were there to encourage them…when it came time to spread their wings?
I wonder…do mockingbird parents get old and gray…
If they cold turn their thoughts into words…
would they be able to express how they feel when their children visit
and bring grand baby birds?
Perhaps one morning as I watch this mockingbird spread her wings…
I’ll have the chance to meet her parents…and as we pause and listen to their child sing.
we’ll share stories and memories of moments…that have long ago gone by
of a time before our children learned to sing…
before they learned to fly.