What Is Family?

Janna

New Member
I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
"Oh excuse me please" was my reply.
He said, "Please excuse me too;
I wasn't watching for you."

We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said goodbye.

But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.

Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.

When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.

He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.

While I lay awake in bed,
God's still small voice came to me and said,

"While dealing with a stranger,
common courtesy you use,
but the family you love,
you seem to abuse."


Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door.

Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.

He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes."

By this time, I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.

I quietly went and knelt by his bed;
"Wake up, little one, wake up," I said.

"Are these the flowers you picked for me?"
He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree.

I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."

I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."
He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay. I love you anyway."

I said, "Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue."



FAMILY
Are you aware that if we died tomorrow,
the company that we are working for could
easily replace us in a matter of days.
But the family we left behind will feel
the loss for the rest of their lives.

And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more
into work than into our own family, an unwise
investment indeed, don't you think?
So what is behind the story?

Do you know what the word FAMILY means?
FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU
 

nvts

Active Member
You HAD to put that on here today? I just blew off everyone because I was trying to put away the groceries and they were all underfoot...

:crazy:

It's a beautiful piece!

Beth
 

tiredmommy

Well-Known Member
Janna,
Reading that makes me feel great about spending the entire day having fun with Duckie today. It makes leaving the housework for later all worthwhile. :smile:
 
K

Kjs

Guest
Ok. I hate working. I hate being away from home. I hate not being home when difficult child wakes up. Now I am really feeling bad.

I enjoy my days off. I never go to work without getting a hug and an I Love you to and from difficult child. Even if he is not home, I will stop and see him before I head out.

Really wish I could spend every day with difficult child. Hope I am not over looking any signs or signals he is sending me. I miss him so much when I am working.

Great poem. Makes you think.
 

Marguerite

Active Member
Kjs, I had to work full-time when my three oldest were little. I was back at work after each birth, at 12 weeks. It was hard, especially with my first because I worried that someone else would be giving her the love I wanted to.

But I needn't have worried - it turned out that I still got to spend a lot of time with my kids, but it was quality time. We didn't have a house to clean up because we'd been out all day. They'd messed up at the child care centre and someone else had cleaned up. On the way home we would sing songs, we'd talk, we'd sometimes stop and buy some food (I knew they'd had a healthy lunch) and we just had fun together.

And during the day, I got to talk with adults at work and not feel my brain melting every time I watched another kids' show on TV.

If you make sure that the time you spend with your kids is really focussed on them, and on you both sharing good time together, you will be doing at least as well, if not better, than someone who is there physically, but distracted. Whether you're home with the kids all day or at work, you need to make special together time available with your kids.

My sister rang me today - she's babysitting her 20 month old grandson for the weekend and loving it. As she was about to hang up she said, "We're about to go to the park. I love taking my grandchildren to the park. It's just at the end of the street. But do you know, their parents never take them? They're too busy during the week at work."
"What about weekends?" I asked. I used to go to the park with our kids on weekends.
"I think they just don't get around to it," she told me.

Very sad.

There is no doubt that my nephew and his wife love their two kids, but it is sad that their visits to the park are only with Grandma.

As I've said often (and also to some sleazy men who brag) - it's not what you've got, it's what you DO with what you've got that counts.

And that includes your use of time.

Marg
 
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