When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator,
and I wanted to paint another.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you feed a stray cat, and I thought
it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you make my favorite cake for me,
and I knew that little things are special things.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I heard you say a prayer, and I believed
there was a God I could always talk to.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
you kissed me goodnight, and I felt loved.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw tears come from your eyes,
and I learned that sometimes things hurt,
but it’s all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn’t looking
you smiled, and it made me want to look that pretty, too.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
you cared, and I wanted to be everything I could be.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I looked… and wanted to say thanks
for all the things I saw…when you thought I wasn’t looking.

Today I left some dishes dirty,
The bed got made around 3:30.
The diapers soaked a little longer,
The odor grew a little stronger.

The crumbs I spilled the day before
Are staring at me from the floor.
The fingerprints there on the wall
Will likely be there still next fall.

The dirty streaks on the windowpanes
Will still be there the next time it rains.
Shame on you, you sit and say,
Just what did you do today?

I held a baby till she slept,
I held a toddler while he wept.
I played a game of hide and seek,
I squeezed a toy so it would squeak.

I pulled a wagon, sang a song,
Taught a child right from wrong.
What did I do this whole day through?
Not much that shows, I guess that’s true.

Unless you think that what I’ve done,
Might be important to someone
With deep blue eyes, and soft blond hair,
If that is true...I’ve done my share.

Unknown

A baby was created
by the hand of God above
To give the world the sweetest touch
of tenderness and love.

With the softest whisper,
God made baby’s skin
And then designed two trusting eyes
to put the starlight in.

With giggles from a waterfall
and breezes passing by,
God made a baby’s laughter
and a tiny, sleepy sigh.

God made the world a precious gift
more dear and pure than gold,
With little toes to play with
and tiny hands to hold,

And sent this brand-new person
on sunshine’s golden beams,
All wrapped up in a rainbow
of wonder, hope, and dreams.

Unknown

You may not find things all in place
Friend, when you enter here.
But we’re a home where children live,
We hold them very dear.

And you may find small fingerprints
And smudges on the wall.
When the kids are gone, we’ll clean them up,
Right now we’re playing ball.

For there’s one thing of which we’re sure,
These children are on loan.
One day they’re always underfoot,
Next thing you know, they’re gone.

That’s when we’ll have a well kept house,
When they’re off on their own.
Right now, this is where children live,
A loved and lived in home.

Give me patience when little hands
Tug at me with ceaseless small demands.
Give me gentle words and smiling eyes,
And keep my lips from hasty, sharp replies.
Let me not in weariness, confusion, or noise,
Obscure my vision from life’s fleeting joys.
That when in years to come my house is still,
Beautiful memories its rooms may fill.

Unknown

Mother, oh mother, come shake out your cloth!
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo)
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo)

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
But children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby, and babies don’t keep.

Sitting here in silence watching you breathe
in life tiny gasps of air
clutching fists in the air
I watch with awe
as you learn to live
Do you remember
swimming in a sea of safety
Do you remember
the songs that I sang in secret
to you when all was quiet
I held you under my heart
and our souls connected
I stroke a finger along
a silky skin
made soft from floating
in that precious love within
my being
As those clutching fingers find my own
I realize that you are much more
than my newborn child
you are the answer to the ageless
eternal search for the meaning of
life

Someday
I know I will say
I would give anything
to have this night to live once more.
For now
I will revel in my joy,
Unable to sleep at two and three and four a.m.
As I watch you lie beside me.
I can only smile to myself
As the night nurse says
That if you were my second born
I would have already returned you to the nursery
So that I can get my rest.
But I know that someday
I would give anything
to have this night to live once more;
These few quivering and shining hours
of just you and me together–
when your world was just brand new,
and mine was just beginning.

Monday’s child is fair of face,
Tuesday’s child is full of grace,
Wednesday’s child is full of woe,
Thursday’s child has far to go,
Friday’s child is loving and giving,
Saturday’s child works for its living,
And a child that’s born on the Sabbath day
Is fair and wise and good and gay.

Unknown

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.
If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty.
If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.
If a child lives with encouragement, he learns confidence.
If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate.
If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.
If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith.
If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself.
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship,
He learns to find love in the world.

Dorothy Law Nolte

1. If I like it, it’s mine.
2. If it’s in my hand, it’s mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it’s mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine.
5. If it’s mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.
6. If I’m doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks just like mine, it’s mine.
8. If I think it’s mine, it’s mine.
9. If it’s yours and I steal it, it’s mine.

Hush, little baby, don’t say a word,
Papa’s gonna buy you a mockingbird.
And if that mockingbird won’t sing,
Papa’s gonna buy you a diamond ring.
If that diamond ring turns brass,
Papa’s gonna buy you a looking glass.
If that looking glass gets broke,
Papa’s gonna buy you a billy goat.
If that billy goat won’t pull,
Papa’s gonna buy you a cart and bull.
If that cart and bull turns over,
Papa’s gonna buy you a dog named Rover.
If that dog named Rover won’t bark,
Papa’s gonna buy you a horse and cart.
If that horse and cart fall down,
You’ll still be the sweetest baby in town!

Unknown