A teenage
girl’s mother
(Lychandra at 13)
What can I tell you about boys?
Can I tell you that they are honourable?
Can I tell you that they are loyal?
Can I tell you that all their words are true?
What can I tell you about boys?
When I look back at my own experience
And wish I had nothing to look back upon
What can I tell you about boys?
What I can tell you about boys
Is that they have grown up pretty much like you
But then there is what other girls say
And then there is what other boys say
What can I tell you about boys?
Not much more than I can tell you about girls
Not much more than I can tell you about anyone
What can I tell you about people in general?
I can tell you that if you like someone
And they make you feel good inside
Then I am happy for you
That you have found someone good to be with.
“I know now that everything changes, and it’s usually too quickly.”*
Having children reminds us of the changing nature of ourselves and our world. Before children entered my life, years could go by and I would usually have external events to mark them. Now, years are remembered for my children’s birth or ages, and our experiences together. (And the time before the birth of my first child feels like a thousand years ago!). Their growth seems rapid and shockingly sudden – and my time with them is all the more precious for knowing that.
* © from 'Being Mummy' by Anne‑marie Taplin, published April 2007