Childhood Doesn't Wait

I was sitting on a bench 

while in a nearby mall,

 When I noticed a young mother

 with two children who were small. 

The youngest one was whining,

 "Pick me up," I heard him beg

 but the mother's face grew angry 

as the child clung to her leg. 

"Don't hang on to me," she shouted 

as she pushed his hands away,

 I wish I'd had the courage

 to go up to her and say... 

"The time will come too quickly 

when those little arms that tug, 

Won't ask for you to hold them 

or won't freely give a hug. 

"The day will sneak up subtly

 just as it did with me, 

When you can't recall the last time

 that your child sat on your knee. 

"Like those sacred, pre-dawn feedings

 when we cherished time alone

 Our babies grow and leave behind

 those special times we've known. 

So when your child comes to you

 with a book that you can share,

 Or asks that you would tuck him in

 and help him say his prayer... 

"When he comes to sit and chat 

or would like to take a walk, 

Before you answer that you can't 

`cause there's no time to talk

Remember what all parents learn

 so many times too late, 

That years go by too quickly 

and that childhood doesn't wait. 

Take every opportunity,

 if one should slip away 

Reach hard to get it back again, 

don't wait another day." 

I watched that mother walk away

 her children followed near, 

I hope she'll pick them up before

 her chances disappear.

Author Unknown

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you're new to Hidden Treasures, we'd love to invite you to stay a little while and look around.  You can connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.  Or you can choose to have our post delivered directly to your E-mail or RSS feed.  Thank you so much for taking the time to read our posts!  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~