wasn't really that long
in the past
when i nurs'd you
bathed your pudgy bodies
afresh and alas
wean'd you patiently
from breast to bottle
to sippy cup, then
as you discover'd,
your favorite,
breakable, irreplaceable
glass

wasn't really that long
in the past
when you begg'd to
ride "the horsey"
on the merry-go-round
and you clench'd the pole
so tight smiling ever
so bright when
it whirl'd you around
and went really really fast

and then the time came
when you drove us crazy
wondering where you'd been
as the sun turn'd
evening-hazy then
there was the time
you want'd to be grown,
we'd set those cautious curfews
that all of you bemoan'd

and then the time came
when you graduated from first
grade K, then 6 then 12,
and you went on your way,
your direction was yours
since you wouldn't hear a word
i had to say. . . you were grown,
and many a time afterwards, as your
mother, your choices i too,
at times, bemoan'd. . .

I cried like a baby every time
you were caught in a fix,
but you always remember'd
to watch out for tricks that
might cause you to fall, tricks
that lead youth astray. . .
but from Bible school teaching
you remember'd The True Way

so now at this Yuletide that
signals year's end, i'm so
happy to know I'm both Mom,
and your friend.

God bless you, my big ol' grown babies!
I love you,
Mommy

© 2004 cynth'ya lewis reed
All rights reserved. Reed Puryear Family Legacy