Reflections

I have been away from this blog for awhile. Life has been crazy this past month. On December 29th at 1:47 pm my dear grandmother passed away. It was one of the most whirlwind experiences of my entire life. So many emotions wrapped in such a short period of time. My grandma was a beautiful, intelligent, sweet, wonderful lady who will forever hold a dear place in my heart. I have such fond memories that I am holding onto for dear life through this time of mourning. I have a new angel looking down on me and I pray that I may always make her proud.

That said, I am now back. Life is slowly getting back to normal and I am going to be more diligent about posting on this blog. It helps me process life, and I enjoy sharing with others. Today in my night class, Diverse Learners, my professor (who is one of my favorite professors ever) gave our class a poem for us to read. It stuck with me and ever since I have not been able to stop thinking about it. So, I will share it with you, and say nothing more. I leave you to reflect on the poem, draw your own conclusions, process your own thoughts, and please feel free to share.

We Accept Responsibility for All of the Children

by Ina J. Hughes

We accept responsibility for children

Who sneak popsicles before supper

Who erase holes in math workbooks

Who can never find their shoes

And, we accept responsibility for those

Who stare at photographers from behind barbed

wire

Who can’t bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers

Who never counted potatoes

Who were born in places we wouldn’t be caught dead

Who never go to the circus

Who live in an X-rated world

We accept responsibility for children

Who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of

dandelions

Who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money

And, we accept responsibility for those

Who never get dessert

Who have no safe blanket to drag behind them

Who watch their parents watch them die

Who can’t find any bread to steal

Who don’t have any rooms to clean up

Whose pictures aren’t on anybody’s dresser

And whose monsters are real

We accept responsibility for children

Who spend all their allowance before Tuesday

Who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their

food

Who like ghost stories

Who shove dirty clothes under the bed and never

rinse out the tub

Who get visits from the tooth fairy

Who don’t like to be kissed in front of the carpool

Who squirm in church or temple and scream in the phone

Whose tears we sometimes laugh at and whose

smiles can make us cry

We accept responsibility for those

Whose nightmares come in the daytime

Who will eat anything

Who have never seen a dentist

Who aren’t spoiled by anybody

Who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep

Who live and move, but have no being

We accept responsibility for children

Who want to be carried and for those who must

For those we never give up on and for those who don’t get a

second chance

For those we smother and for those who will grab

the hand of anyone kind enough to offer it