Life's Inspirations

All Child Caregivers Please Read!

DEAR TEDDY

Teddy, I've been bad again,
My Mommy told me so;
I'm not quite sure what I did wrong,
But I thought that you might know.

When I woke up this morning,
I knew that she was mad;
Cause she was crying awful hard,
And yelling at my dad.

I tried my best to be real good,
And do just what she said;
I cleaned my room all by myself,
I even made my bed.

But I spilled milk on my good shirt,
When she yelled at me to hurry;
And I guess she didn't hear me,
When I told her I was sorry.

'Cause she hit me awful hard, you see,
And called me funny names;
And told me I was really bad,
And I should be ashamed!

When I said, "I love you, Mommy,"
I guess she didn't understand;
Cause she yelled at me to shut my mouth.
Or I'd get smacked again.

So I came up here to talk to you,
Please tell me what to do;
'Cause I really love my Mommy,
And I know she loves me, too.

And I don't think my Mommy means,
To hit me quite so hard;
I guess sometimes, grown ups forget
How really big they are!

So Teddy, I wish you were real,
And you weren't just a bear;
Then you could help me find a way
To tell Mommies everywhere.

To please try hard to understand.
How sad it makes us feel;
'Cause the outside pain soon goes a way,
But the inside never heals!

And if we could make them listen,
Maybe then they'd understand;
So other children just like me,
Wouldn't have to hurt again.

But for now, I guess I'll hold you tight,
And pretend the pain's not there;
I know you'd never hurt me,
So Goodnight, Teddy Bear!

~Cindy Pike Dunning~

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "it's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always thruthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or is it bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand ... but once you are real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always."

~from the Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams~

A HEART FOR CHILDREN

One hundred years from now
It will not matter
What kind of car I drove,
What kind of house I lived in,
How much I had in my bank
Nor what my clothes looked like.

One hundred years from now
It will not matter
What kind of school I attended,
What kind of typewriter I used
How large or small my church,
But the world may be ...
a little better because..
I was important in the life of a child.

~Unknown~

HEAVEN'S VERY SPECIAL CHILD

A meeting was held quite far from earth.
Its time again for another birth.
Said the angel to the Lord above,
"This special child will need much love.

His progress may be very slow;
accomplishments he may not show.
And he'll require extra care
from the folks he meets down there.

He may not run, or laugh, or play;
his thoughts might seem quite far away.
In many ways, he won't adapt
and he'll be known as handicapped.

So let's be careful where he's sent ...
We want his life to be content.
Please, Lord, find the parents who
will do a special job for you.

They will not realize right away
the healing role they're asked to play.
But with this child sent from above
comes stronger faith, and richer love.

And soon they'll know the riches given
in caring for their gift from heaven.

Their precious charge, so meek and mild
is Heaven's very special child.

~Unknown~

CHILDREN LEARN WHAT THEY LIVE

If a child lives with criticism,
     he learns to condemn;
If a child lives with hostility,
     he learns to fight;
If a child lives with ridicule,
     he learns to be shy;
If a child lives with shame,
     he learns to feel guilty;
If a child lives with tolerance,
     he learns to be patient;
If a child lives with encouragement,
     he learns confidence;
If a child lives with praise,
     he learns to appreciate;
If a child lives with fairness,
     he learns justice;
If a child lives with security,
     he learns to have faith;
If a child lives with approval,
     he learns to like himself;
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship,
     He learns to love the world.

~Unknown~

LIFE WITH DAD

4 years old: My daddy can do anything

5 years old: My daddy knows a lot

6 years old: My dad is smarter than your dad

8 years old: My dad doesn't know exactly everything

10 years old: In the olden days when my dad grew up, things were sure different.

12 years old: Oh, well, naturally, Father doesn't know anything about that. He is too old to remember his childhood.

14 years old: Don't pay any attention to my Father. He is so old-fashioned!

21 years old: Him? My Lord, he's hopelessly out of date!

25 years old: Dad knows a little bit about it, but then he should because he has been around so long.

30 years old: Maybe we should ask Dad what he thinks.
After all, he's had a lot of experience.

35 years old: I'm not doing a single thing until I talk to Dad.

40 years old: I wonder how Dad would have handled it. He was so wise and had a world of experience.

50 years old: I'd give anything if Dad were here now so I
could talk this over with him. Too bad I didn't appreciate how smart he was. I could have learned a lot from him.
I sure do miss him.

~Ann Landers

A CHILD LOANED

"I'll send you for a little time
A Child of Mine," He said
"For you to love the while she lives,
And mourn for when she's dead."
It may be one or seven years
Or twenty-two and three,
But will you, till I call her back,
Take care of her for me?
She'll bring her charms to gladden you,
And should her stay be brief,
You'll have her lovely memories
As solace for your grief.

I cannot promise she will stay
Since all from earth returns.
But there are lessons taught down there
I want this child to learn.

I've looked the wide world over
In search for teachers true
And from the throngs that crowd life's loves
I have selected you.

Now will you give her all your love,
Not think the labor vain,
Nor hate me when I come to call
And take her back again?"

I fancied that I heard them say,
"Dear Lord, thy will be done
For all the joy Thy child shall bring
The risk of grief we'll run.

We'll shelter her with tenderness
We'll love her while we may
And for the happiness we've known
Forever grateful stay.

But should the angels call for her

Much sooner than we'd planned

We'll brave the bitter grief that comes

And try to understand.

~Unknown

A TOUCH OF LOVE

You were six months old and full of fun,
With a blink of my eye, you were suddenly one.
There were so many things we were going to do,
But I turned my head and you turned two.
At two you were very dependant on me,
But independence took over when you turned three.
Your third birthday, another year I tried to ignore,
But when I lit the candles, there weren't three, but four.
Four was the year that you really strived,
Why, look at you now, you're already five.
Now you are ready for books and for rules.
This is the year that you go to school.
The big day came, you were anxious to go.
We walked to the bus, going oh, so slow.
As you climbed aboard and waved good-bye,
I felt a lump in my throat and tears stung my eyes.
Time goes so fast, it's hard to believe
That just yesterday you were home here with me.
And tomorrow when the bus brings you home
and you jump to the ground,
You'll be wearing your cap and graduationgown.
So I'm holding to these moments as hard as I can,
Because the next time I look, I'll be seeing a man.

~Cindy Zelinski~

PLEASE DADDY

Please, Daddy, please be patient
Don’t spank me and don’t yell
I need your love and understanding
If I‘m to learn things well.

Please, Daddy, spend some time with me
Let’s have some fun and smile
Don’t tell me you’re too busy
I’m only little for awhile.

Please, Daddy, could you take my hand
And kindly show me things?
Please don’t make me walk too fast
My little legs aren’t wings.

Please, Daddy, would you read to me
Answering my questions as we go?
Please don’t get impatient
How else am I to know?

Please, Daddy, if I make mistakes
Explain what I’ve done wrong
Don’t just yell and punish me
It hurts me all day long.

Please, Daddy, if I make you proud
Please tell me when I do
You’ve no idea how much it means
Because I’m also proud of you!

Please, Daddy, won’t you hug me lots?
Let’s show how much we care
As I grow and learn each day
I need you to be there......

~Unknown~

A MOTHER

When God looked down upon the earth
And chose to put new blessings there,
Gifts from above To show his love,
And lighten earthly joy and care,
He gave the sky the sunset glow;
Gave fragrance to the lily's blow;
Gave laughter gay To children's play
And then to every yearning soul
He gave that gift of tenderest worth
- A Mother.

~Sarah N. Latham~

A SPECIAL PLACE
Joe Mazzafro

We all posses a special place where no one else can go,
a little part of all of us we never seem to show.
Where dreams are born of what we are, or really want to be,
Our private little fantasies we let no other see.
We look and search our inner selves for who we really are,
and go from place to place in hope the answers will be there,
and wonder deep inside ourselves , if we really care.
we learn the independent way of living on our own,
with knowledge that we must go on until our Spirit's grown.
And run to find reality, the answers to our prayers,
to conquer all the universe or catch a falling star,
That little place where I can go will Never be that FAR.

There once was a creature so dangerous to society we gave our greatest efforts to destroy it.
This creature had taken human form and yet it could be any color and size.
It was a master of disguise, although we had learned many characteristics of this sick beast.
The creature had no feelings for the need to hold society together,
it knew not of modesty and had no use for conventional clothing,
knew nothing of styles.
Cared nothing for education, as it's instincts were so acute it had the scent and skill of a wild animal.
Knew nothing of color or origin and could be of any nationality,
so cared nothing for ethnic background.
Saw no need for religion as it had no need for organized insanity.
Cared nothing for trait sexuality as it was asexual at conception
and bisexual by nature.
It never deterred it's survival instincts, and was not self destructive.
Cared nothing for conventional physical harm, free from smoking, drinking, drugs, stress, phobias, hate, love, controversy and competition.
Yet oddly enough enjoyed flowers, trees, snowflakes, sun, stars, birds,
caterpillars, and the birth of a new rainbow.
Now this creature is distinctive in looks, baldish, with no body hair,
reddish brown in color and heavy in body weight.
It does not kill for food as it's body is not capable of digesting solids.
WELL, my curiosity had overrun my good sense and I made way one day to this stucco and red brick building on the outskirts of town to see this thing.
As I arrived, I was directed to the third floor.
The halls were of Cold Grey Cement.
The people were solemn and seemed unconcerned with my presence.
As I reached the third floor, there was a person smiling at me from behind a small wood desk.
I explained what I had come to see and was directed to the end of the hall.
There, enclosed in Heavy Glass and cement, my eyes caught a glimpse of this misunderstood misfit of society.
As I looked on, tears filled my eyes as I realized this creature would either have to change or be destroyed.
As I turned to leave, I stopped to ask if there was a name for such an unfortunate creature,

OH YES, was the reply, It's called a
"HUMAN CHILD"