Roman at three
“It's a flower!”
Upon the hand
Plump glad smiles to signal
The exploration
“See, I found it.”
A look to the woods
A gesture
A knowing of the gift
“It was just there.”
And gold sparks fly
From within the eye
Of the bearer of fruit
“It's for you.”
And a tear wells up
While the heart explodes
My beautiful boy
I love you.
King of the Castle
(Roman at 5)
The castle walls
Stone, concrete, mud
Built to last
The toughest conquest
Roaming arms
Legs, feet and eyes
A climbing child
Full of laughter
Exploring this world
Imagining, creating
How many things to do,
See and wonder about?
A valiant knight
Saving damsels in distress
Solving the puzzle
Of escaping the maze
Tunnels and towers
Maybe even traps
Only the clever can become
King of the Castle
“My patience, resolutions and beliefs are tested to the limits – sometimes daily.”*
Right at this moment one of my challenges is the constant, tuneless whistling from my elder son. When my boys were babies it was getting them to sleep or trying to figure out why they were crying. On any given day now, it might be squabbling, fighting, teasing, screaming, shouting or rudeness. Who’d be a parent? We might well question ourselves after the event, but we can’t very well put them back! Just how we find those inner resources, how we constantly demand more of ourselves, how we keep marching up that hill with a smile on our face and gladness in our heart at the sight of our ‘babies’ is one of life’s mysteries.
* © from Being Mummy by Anne‑marie Taplin published April 2007