Anger will get their attention,
but remember,
as with you,
love will let them listen.
but remember,
as with you,
love will let them listen.
Our children ask us to be
as attentive,
caring,
gentle,
brave,
trusting,
funny,
and most of all,
as forgiving as they.
Do not take their gifts for granted,
or soon they will sour.
Learn from those small moments
that so enlarge the heart.
Respect each even
when different than you,
as each of us is.
If we offer our best
that is what they will learn,
about us …
for once upon the ears of a child
a tone of voice
resonates a lifetime.
This article appears in October 2010.
