On 3/9/2008, while watching my daughter reading at Border’s and remembering the time when she was so eager to have me read to her and I never had enough time for her then and now she seldom has time and patience to hear me talk.  I thought a lot and wrote below at Border’s:

                  Enjoy Your Turn

Read to that little ones while the ears are all yours,
Listen to what the child’s heart pours out while the heart is still open to you,
Take the little sweetie to places while the sweetie cannot drive,
Clothe the tiny body, feed the baby mouth,
Hold those child hands while the hands reach out for you.
For the moment will come, sooner than you expect, when –
The little turns big;
And the big hands are behind the wheel;
The big heart is closed to you;
And finally, you become the one reaching out for that once upon a child! 

I have shared this piece with some of my friends.  Here are their comments:
From the doctor at our clinic.  I sent this to her on her last day at our clinic, 6/12/2008
“Wow, thank you so much.  This is beautiful.  And you’re absolutely right – I feel like my daughters are growing faster every day.  Thank you for your lovely words, and best of luck to you.”

An old friend of the writer, from her teen years, 6/14/2008
“Well written.  Only when you have kids can you write sth like this. Not from one’s pen, but the heart.”

I love these comments!  Thanks for the bounty of kind words and encouragement. If my children have made my live richer, my friends have made it more appreciable. Well, I see a lot to be thankful now.