Eighteen Summers

I remember the words of my Grandmother, 
All those years ago, 
When I brought you home from the hospital
amongst the fallen snow.

“You only have them for eighteen summers”, she said, 
“So enjoy them all you can. 
Time, it goes so quickly,
and he’ll soon become a man.” 

The summers came upon us,
and I savored every one. 
Hoping I could slow down time
by soaking up the sun.

I remember wishes made on dandelions,
and catching fireflies in jars.
You learned to ride a bike,
and we danced under the stars.

We’d go camping and go fishing.
We’d skip rocks across the pond.
Then tell knock-knock jokes for hours, 
just strengthening the bond.

We spent our days hunting dragons
in clouds up in the sky.
You learned to swim underwater,
build a fort, and make mud pies.

Now, here we are, the eighteenth summer.
Grandmother was right, it went so fast.

Drink it in...

Take a breath...

These memories have to last.

So as you start on your new journey,
I’ll gather fireflies as I roam.
I will place them in jars along the way,
To light your path back home.

I love you, 
Mom

Enough

When your Mom spoons food onto your plate at Thanksgiving and you get the amount you need, you say,

"Thank you, that's enough".

When The kids are arguing or the dog is barking or life hands you more than you can deal with, you may scream,

"Stop it, I have had Enough!".

 But how often do we examine our gluttonous lives and say, "It's Enough"?  

Do you ever look around your house and wonder, what is it all for?

I have 8 sets of dishes, but rarely entertain company.

I have 2 refrigerators and a freezer, but rarely cook a meal. 

How many pairs of shoes or jeans or coats do I actually need?

We work to buy more stuff while still owing on the stuff we have.  

We buy bigger homes to store our stuff and yet we are hardly home to enjoy any of it.  

We are slaves to commercials that tell us to take the kids to Disney.

What happened to playing in the mud....

                or dreaming under the stars.... for free?

We don't make time for long meals with family and friends

because the kids have practice or we have work to catch up on.  

Instead, we polute our planet with fast food trash and plastic bottles

that help to expedite this rush-rush life.

We watch this beautiful world go by through office windows and the windshields of our cars.

We strive to impress those we may not even know with our fancy homes and vehicles.

We work to give our kids, and ourselves, all that is wanted, but not enough of what we need.  

We convince ourselves that it is worth it.

We don't stop to ponder, worth what?

It is time to downsize our stuff and Supersize our time.

It is a precious gift that we take for granted and 

we hope it will be there waiting for us

when we're old.

I, for one, am fed up.

I have more than I will ever need.

Come and share my food, dear friends,

My plate is full,

and I

have had

enough.

- Kate Pellerin

(Thank you to my kids for my clarity of this life!)