Hide me, seek me,

chase me ‘round the tree.

Catch me, hold me,

bounce me on your knee.

Rock me, hug me,

cheer me when I’m sad.

Nurture me, enrich me,

forgive me when I’m bad.

Surprise me, delight me,

treat me to your laughter.

Excite me, train me,

give me a task to master.

Comfort me, soothe me,

heal me when I’m hurt.

Protect me, warn me,

help me stay alert.

Notice me, advise me,

correct me when I’m wrong.

Enjoy me, cherish me,

miss me when I’m gone.

Prepare me, lead me,

expect me to be kind.

Calm me, quiet me,

allow me to unwind.

Support me, guide me,

encourage me not to quit.

Humor me, indulge me,

spoil me just a bit.

Praise me, inspire me,

teach me how to pray.

Believe me, trust me,

find me if I stray.

See me, hear me,

answer me when I call.

Accept me, respect me,

love me most of all!

This is not a new poem – I wrote it for my grandson when he was 6 months old. You know, when our children and grandchildren are babies, we have such dreams for them! We are positive we can make their little world nearly perfect. Then life happens; we get overwhelmed, they get more demanding and we realize that perfection is not even close to attainable, nor should it be! But raising good, respectful, happy children isn’t impossible. We must simply remember what’s important to THEM!

I pictorialized my photo above with a “colored pencil” edit.