My mother wrote her memoirs. Or is writing.
Tonight I read a story to the kids,
In which she spoke of scooter wars, and fighting
That ended with a scooter on the skids.
The kids are just about the age she'd been.
And somehow, when they realized this was true,
They dropped th'impatient mood that they were in,
And settled down to write their memoirs, too.
And frankly, I was jealous of the ease
With which they started filling up the page.
Sometimes it takes me hours, just to tease
A couplet out. I wonder if it's age.
The greatest part was list'ning to them read
A story of uncomplicated days,
Unfettered by debilitating need,
Forgiving of their father's quirky ways,
And proud. Of being who they are, and knowing it.
Ecstatic, that they've found a way of showing it.
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Comments
"And proud. Of being who they are, and knowing it.
Ecstatic, that they've found a way of showing it." - Beautiful.
rated with love
One always wonders what things kids will declare important. But writing, especially longhand, such a wonderful thing to do.
That the lessons you teach your children harvest rewards threefold, my friend, make me smile even more.
heidibeth - I wish you could have seen the enthusiastic determination on their faces - especially when I told them they had to put the pens down and get ready to go. I wish I could have let them go on all night.
RomanticPoetess - a worthy endeavor, especially if there are young kids who can read the part about the young you. My daughter lit up like a Christmas tree.
anna1 - yes, theirs especially. It's such a wonderful break from the vocabulary sentences they have to do every week.
Muse - drawing is funny. My son has been very self-critical since he was tiny. But sometimes he just starts producing like crazy (Star Wars was a particularly powerful inspiration).
Brassawe - I'm glad, man. You're a challenging reader, gotta keep you coming back for more.
trilogy - you know, that just plain didn't occur to me. Really. But now that you mention it, I do see a pattern emerging...
vanessa - that diary sounds fantastic. So... post a couple of pages???
Kate - aha. You caught me. The apostrophe was a kind of a crutch on that line. When I read it out loud, I don't eliminate the syllable, I just compress it. I TOTALLY cheated on my meter. And as for rewards, they will be greatest if I can keep the kids on this project.
Thanks everyone! I'm going to go back ANOTHER day now, and respond to those comments too. Then to bed, I swear.