She loves her now
She is rarely ready
when seasons decide to change
She doesn’t want
the seasons to change
– at least not right now
thanks – but no thanks – maybe tomorrow?
This is how it is
when seasons decide to change
When winter comes she does’nt want her
warm winter clothes
when spring arrives
she wants to keep them on.
When we went on sunny holiday in November
she stood on the beach in her pantyhose
refused to take them off
She wasn’t ready to change season
after a five-hour flight
Because she loves the sun’s hot rays
She loves to throw with leaves in the woods
She loves snow, skiing and hot cocoa
she loves to pick anemones
in the spring’s bright sunshine
She gets sad
when the sun no longer warms
her little body
she likes bare feet in the grass
and dislikes to wrap her feet in shoes
and tight socks
because stretching toes are much nicer
She gets sad
when the raspberry bush
does not have more raspberries
when the snowman melts
when the sea gets too cold to swim in
when it gets dark in the afternoon
She likes it best
as it is right now
She doesn’t want her now to change
She likes her now
– right now
By the way, she doesn’t like busy mornings
but who does anyway?
As an adult, I tend to think
that’s just how it is
Just put on some more clothes
You will freeze in that summer dress
Come on
We are getting late for school
You won’t have time to eat breakfast
I could also have gone
twenty minutes earlier to bed
and gotten out of bed twenty minutes
earlier in the morning
So she would have had better time
to get used to
that the season has decided to change
I could have said
is it hard that you need
to put on more clothes now?
I could have helped her pick a
warm sweater
Come on, let’s find the finest in your closet
When she had put her pantyhose on
And a long-sleeved t-shirt under her dress
she swallowed her oatmeal
picked up the brush
brushed her teeth and hair at the same time
and we reached school 7.55 sharp.
Because she didn’t want to be a burden
she wants to cooperate
She just was not ready for
the season to decide to change
I love it when the seasons change
I thought about it this morning in the woods
while I jogged on my favorite path
and took a deep breath after the drama of the morning
I love the red and brown colors in wood crowns
I love the wet and hard forest floor
The fresh and raw smells
telling me that autumn is approaching
The sounds, the wind
I wonder if it’s part of growing up
to learn to love that seasons change?
Or does she actually have
an important message to me?
to learn to love the now even more,
to add even more value to the present now
instead of looking forward
for something new
in a bit
in a bit
in a bit
tomorrow
tomorrow
tomorrow
And so I practice
practice
practice
every day
to understand my children better
learn from them
and become a better mother
By Gitte Winter Graugaard
www.roomforreflection.com