246. Children’s Day

For Mother’s Day, I found this in the email forwarded from friend Linda Lewis.  It made me think that maybe we should belatedly give credit to the characters who managed to make some of us eligible for Mother’s Day.  

I hereby declare that as far as this blob is concerned, today is Children’s Day. In my case, the seven who made up the Ford Horde are pictured here: Mark Peter, Matthew Damien, Lisa Marie, Susan Marie, Gretchen Marie, Teresa Marie, and Judith Marie Ford.  

And here’s the poetry Linda forwarded this morning. 

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn’t worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations. 

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn’t want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million piecdes
when I couldn’t stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom. 

Before I was a Mom,
I didn’t know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body.
I didn’t know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn’t know that bond
between a mother and her child
I didn’t know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy. 

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn’t know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom.

May you always be overwhelmed by the grace of God rather than by the cares of life, and may you always know the joy of family and of sharing.