Today I’m thankful for magic…for children…
and for the wonderfully innocent view of the world they bring…
Because…
when we are fortunate enough to see the world through the eyes of a child
we’re be able to see magic…in everything
Today I’m thankful for the children of the world..
may their lives be filled with laughter and joy and fun…
and may we remember
when we strive to make the world a better place for all the children
we make it better place for everyone.
The old man…who has lived long…who has seen this a hundred times before
was asked, “What he thinks is the saddest part of war?”
“The tragedy of war,” the old man said, “amid the destruction, the death…the screams
is what it does to the children…specifically to their dreams.”
Before the war children’s dreams are pure and innocent…and free…
Before the war children dream of a world they’d like to see.”
“A world of toys and candy…where only rain and sunshine fall from up above.
A peaceful world filled with family, laughter, friendship…a world of tenderness and love.”
After the war…their dreams have changed…their childhood dreams have ceased
Now…as they remember the death and the destruction…
they no longer dream of peace.
They are no longer those same children,
young and innocent and small…
now they dream of revenge…
of retaliation…
of retribution…
if they are still alive or dare to dream at all.
The saddest part of war, the old man said…
is when the children’s dreams no longer harmlessly and naively soar….
it’s when their dreams…once so innocent and free…
now turn to dreams of war.”
For when dreams of family and love and laughter
dreams of toys and candy…and peace…
turn to dreams of war…
then wars will never cease.
Today a mountain memory that goes back to a time
when our children were younger…more carefree
when out of Grandpa’s garden Ali picked her Sweet Potato Manatee.
We live in Florida…where many a manatee can be found…
but we never saw one that far north…
or for that matter…buried in the ground.
We joked as a family as to how much this treasure might be worth
after all Ali had discovered the smallest manatee on Earth.
Since it’s known as calm and well tempered and as friendly as a mammal can be
that summer Ali decided to adopt her sweet potato manatee.
It’s a summer in the mountains none of us will ever forget…
when Ali, an animal lover, kept a sweet potato as a pet.
“Are you going to eat it?” She was asked by many an amused and smiling stranger
to which Ali would roll her eyes and answer, “We can’t…manatees are in danger.”
The problem that I’m sure has dawned on you…as it did to this reporter…
a manatee can live for 60 years…a sweet potato’s life…is shorter.
My memory’s a little fuzzy as to that manatee’s final fate…
but I do know that is one sweet potato our family never ate.
I suppose in the end that was the good natured playfulness of fate…of destiny
leaving us…among others memories that summer…one of a sweet potato manatee.
We took three of our grandchildren to lunch yesterday…
and there was something we couldn’t ignore…
Yes they are still our grandchildren.. but they’re not children anymore.
It seems like only yesterday…we were enamored by their charms….
seems like only yesterday…we held them in our arms…
As we sat around the table talking, laughing…eating…drinking…
One…I couldn’t help but smile..and two…I remember thinking…
how, as new parents, we hoped…without making too much of a fuss
our children would be healthy, happy and have as good…or a better life than us.
And when they did…how we were overjoyed…we were proud and happy to see
our hopes had been fulfilled…this is the way it’s supposed to be.
We remember being there when each of our grandchild was born…
and, again, without making too much of a fuss
how we hoped they would be healthy, happy…
and have as good or a better life than us….
Observing them at lunch…something we didn’t expect…
which for them will surely be a plus
our grandchildren are taller, smarter, stronger and jus as pretty as us.
But again that’s how it should be…
and as grandparents we can’t wait to see….
as they make their way in life…
the kind of people they will be.
When you play with your children and grandchildren they are happier and healthier…
studies have shown this to be true.
but did you know when you play with your children and grandchildren…
it could also be beneficial to you?
When you play with your children and grandchildren
from you they learn how to pick and choose,
they learn what fun there is in playing a game…
even when they lose.
When you play with your children and grandchildren
they learn patience and problem solving,
they learn how to take turns, how to think for themselves,
you get to watch their imaginations and emotions evolving.
When you play with your children and grandchildren
they learn how to be honest, kind and fair,
they learn to think for themselves, to be creative,
they learn to laugh, to love, to care.
When you play with your children and grandchildren
they learn how to joke, how to smile…how to rhyme,
they learn you’re willing to give them your most precious gifts…
your attention, your love, and your time..
There have been no studies on this subject
but we’ve found it to be true…
if you play with your children and grandchildren when they’re young
when they grow up…they’ll come back and play with you.
Two children on the playground swinging together
playing catch
It didn’t matter to them one iota
that their genders and colors didn’t match.
They sat together once they finished playing
and as tenderly as can be
she leaned over and gently
placed her head upon his knee
And as he softly placed his arm around her shoulder
with her head upon his knee
I thought:
how wonderful if only we could see
the world these children see.
Another mass shooting…this one in Texas…I don’t remember exactly when
because the days all run together…and there’s been 6 more since then.
We’re on a pace to break the record for mass shootings in one year…
which means there’s no place in this country we can walk into…without fear.
It’s sad to think when we go to school, the movies, the mall, the grocery store…
anywhere we roam…
that some of us who set off today…won’t be returning home.
It doesn’t seem to matter if those murders are splashed across the evening news…
doesn’t make a difference…doesn’t change our point of view.
Sure…we’re angry for a moment…for a moment we might pause…
but the killings keep on coming because we won’t change our laws.
I wonder…would we do more than get sad and angry as we watch grieving families cry…if we knew every day 22 children are shot…and 5 of them will die.
Until something is done to stop these killings…killings that everyone deplores
today will join the list…and be a little sadder than the day before.
If you don’t think there’s a problem in our society…
let me show you what I mean…
This poem you’re reading today…
except for the ever increasing numbers
I first wrote…in 2016.
Children sing uninhibitedly when they’re happy…like they haven’t got a care.
Children will begin to dance spontaneously when there’s music in the air.
Children will climb as high as they can climb…before they realize they can fall.
Children will draw upon what they think is a canvas…before learning it’s a wall.
Children treat everyone the same before being taught this kind of thinking may be flawed…Children marvel at the heavens before they ever hear of God.
I recently listened to a brother talk about losing his sister…and everything from him this took…when, ten years ago, he survived but his sister didn’t…the murders at Sandy Hook.
What struck me most as I heard him speak of the day the murderer and their paths crossed was how his innocence was taken…the same day his sister’s innocence was lost.
How she would never again sing or dance or draw upon a wall…
How she’ll never marvel at the heavens…climb too high…or fall.
“I was able to do all the things my sister never would.” Her brother sorrowfully exclaimed knowing from the moment she was taken his life would never be the same.
The more I listened to this young man speak about his life and his sister…now 10 years dead…I thought how the innocence we possess as children hangs from a tenuous thread.
How it can be lost in an instant like it was at Sandy Hook…taken by a gun in the hands of a maniac…and how once it’s lost…or taken…we never get it back.
Which means it’s up to those of us who understand…every woman…every man
to protect the innocence of our children for as long as we possibly can.
We know of ways that we can help…and with each new generation of children we get another chance….to allow them to innocently draw on walls, to climb, to sing….to dance.
But we keep failing our children…unable to work together on this problem…unable to unite….which makes me wonder how many more generations of children will lose their innocence…before we get it right.