Parent Pain

I've been feeling pretty down about all the things I wish I would have done differently as a parent. When my kids struggle I really begin to understand why! I wrote this poem the other night when I felt so frustrated with myself.


I wish I would have known so long ago
What I know today
I would have packed up all my hopes and dreams
And tucked them tight away.

I wouldn't of worried about the first steps
Or wonder what he'd be
A doctor or a fireman
Or simply grow beyond my knee.

No worries why my daughter was the smallest in her class
And if she'd keep her golden hair
Would she be much stronger than her mom
When other girls would be unfair.

The fears I had so long ago
Why they'd almost make me smile
If I'd had to see my future woes
My heart would choose denial.

You see the rub in all of this
As I sit her now today
Is all the things I didn't fear
Have happened anyway.

Why didn't someone tell me
That a room mother couldn't save the day
Or a scout leader and a volunteer
Can't make her children stay.

How could I dare waste one breath
Saying how the day would come
When my grown-up kids would be just fine
How could I be so dumb?

I find it so ironic
You need a permit to hunt the wild
Or a certificate to adopt a cat
But no license to raise your child.