A Poem To My Grown Up Son (and Daughter)

Since I'm on the subject of childhood today I thought I'd like to share a poem that meant a lot to me as my two kids were growing up.  I discovered this poem when my daughter was about 3 years old and my son was just one.  I remember publishing it in a Counseling Department newsletter about that time.  Periodically during my kids younger years I would take it out and read it silently to myself and each time I would get tears in my eyes thinking about the day when they would both be grown up and gone away.   They are happy, and incredibly successfull adults now and I couldn't be prouder than I am of both.  I hadn't thought about this poem in years, but I found it again a few weeks ago, read it silently, and the tears came back.   For all of you parents of young children, heed my warning.  Time flies.  Make the most of it. Build the memories now, because you're going to cherish everyone of them later.

I hope young parents will find as much meaning in this poem as I did then, and still do now.

"To My Grown-Up Son"

by Alice E. Chase

 

My hands were busy through the day,
I didn't have much time to play
The little games you asked me to,
I didn't have much time for you.

I'd wash your clothes; I'd sew and cook,
But when you'd bring your picture book
And ask me, please, to share your fun,
I'd say, "A little later, son."

I'd tuck you in all safe at night,
And hear your prayers, turn out the light,
Then tiptoe softly to the door,
I wish I'd stayed a minute more.

For life is short, and years rush past,
A little boy grows up so fast,
No longer is he at your side,
His precious secrets to confide.

The picture books are put away,
There are no children's games to play,
No goodnight kiss, no prayers to hear,
That all belongs to yesteryear.

My hands once busy, now lie still,
The days are long and hard to fill,
I wish I might go back and do,
The little things you asked me to.

The Disappearance of Childhood

A few years ago I read the book The Disappearance of Childhood by Neil Postman. Mr. Postman’s premise is that, as a society, we are increasingly exposing children to a popular culture that is hostile and damaging to them. Movies, TV shows, music, computer games and other pop influences are destroying the enchantment that childhood once held, according to Postman. What’s happening, he says, is that adults are becoming more childish in these pop pursuits and that children, with all of the “secrets” of adulthood now revealed to them in prime time, are becoming more and more exposed to things that they are not ready to know or understand. This has a detrimental effect on children’s social and moral development and it does not bode well for our society because, as Postman points out, every great culture throughout history, has eventually crumbled as children were exposed to more and more adult things.

It’s tough to be a child in today’s world and it’s even tougher to be a responsible parent. There is no question that today’s kids are being influenced by the negative forces in our society. In many cases these unhealthy influences have taken over for the lack of positive values learned at home, at church, or in school. The reasons are many and the solutions will be difficult to achieve.

Parents need to be more aware of the negative influences working on kids and take a strong stand against them. Have you listened to the music that your kids listen to? Do you know the lyrical content of the songs? Do you know what TV programs they watch and are you aware of their content? What about movies? The internet? Parents must educate themselves about these things and discuss them with their kids in regard to what is acceptable or unacceptable.

I believe that parents must find time to be with their kids - to play with them, to talk to them, and to listen to them. Parents must value what is right and teach these values to their children through their actions and their words. Children’s feelings should be acknowledged as real and important. Parents must recall from their own experiences what feelings came and went as they moved through their own childhood. They must be empathetic, yet firm in stressing the difference between right and wrong. They must be willing to take a stand. For the good of their children they must not be afraid to say no.

In conclusion, I want to add that I believe it is more important than ever before that there be a cooperative effort between the home, the school, and the church. If we work together in a truly cooperative spirit we might be able to protect childhood for our kids so that they can grow into happy, successful and positive adults who can raise their own kids in a more positive world.

A Government That Cares is Not a Bad Thing

Here's something to think about.....

"....if you really think about it, the institutions that do the most "good works" in our society are not churches or charities; they are our local, state, and federal governments. These governments do an enormous amount to feed the hungry, heal the sick, take care of the old, protect the young, and so on. In fact the good created by these governments far exceeds all the good accomplished by churches and charities in our society. When we think about some of the greatest moral achievements in our history, it is often the American people acting through their government that brought them about. It is government that abolished slavery and ended child labor. It is government that has saved millions of lives through public health programs to eradicate diseases. It is government that has drastically reduced poverty among the elderly. It is the government that is saving us all from the widespread suffering and despair caused by economic depressions.

On any measure, the good works accomplished by government have far eclipsed those of churches and other charities. And this makes sense, because the resources of these private institutions are very limited compared to the resources wielded by government... ." ~ Douglas J. Amy, Professor of Politics at Mount Holyoke College.

 

So now, instead of the Republicans narrow mindedly saying "cut, cut, cut" and instead of the Democrats narrow mindedly saying "fund, fund, fund"...we need both sides to can their ideological blindness and work together to streamline these programs so that they are more efficiently run, with out the abuses that do currently exist. These, unfortunately are necessary programs. Let's work together to make them better.

Ideological Insanity

Approval of Congress is down to 13 percent in January, near its lowest point ever. And although a record-low 17 percent of voters say "most members of Congress deserve reeelection," 46 percent still believe their own member of Congress deserves another term in Washington. How can this be? It’s been said that doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. Are these 46% insane? Maybe, but more likely they are just too narrow mindedly hooked on their partisan ideology to see beyond the end of their noses. People like that only have the capacity to blame the other side. Like a team of horses pulling a wagon, they can only see what their blinders allow them to see and their blinders are their ideologies.

We the people need desperately to send a message to politicians on both sides of the political spectrum that in the future we want a Congress that will work together to get things done. The best way to send this message would be to kick each and every one of the incumbents, who are currently taking up dead space in the House or the Senate, out on their keesters. We could do that in 2016, and we would if only “we the people” were open minded and pragmatic enough to shed ourselves of our ideological blinders and realize that the time has come to do what’s best for all Americans. Party ideologies be damned! We must elect new members, with moderate or centrist views on the issues that currently divide us, who are committed to working pragmatically to get things done. Let’s clean house in both chambers in the next election. Send the incumbent vermin packing!. Think of the message that will send! I’d bet that if that happens the next Congress will be one that will return our system of Democracy to it’s glory days….. as a role model for for the rest of the world.

 

I would add this caveat, and that is, as some of you know, I have been promoting the No Labels movement for some time now, and I still have hopes that No Labels is, and will continue to, make a difference.  As of now I believe that over 70 members of the House and Senate have become No Labels "Problem Solvers" by joining the movement and pledging their support for the idea of working cooperatively across party lines.  You can find the names of these No Labels "Problem Solvers" here:  http://www.nolabels.org/problem-solvers    If their name is on the  list these lawmakers probably need to be cut some slack, and in most cases probably deserve to be re-elected.  Watch them closely over the next two years, however, because there could be a few wolves in sheeps clothing among them.