Sometimes when the world is hectic and rushed,
When your time and your patience wear thin,
Things pass you by, and just lay about,
And await your attention again.

"Daddy can we wrestle and play?"
"Do ya wanna go swing in the park?"
The words you acknowlege with a twist of your head,
The next thing you know it is dark.

You walk in their room, now silent and sweet,
And stare at two beautiful faces.
You silently promise these two gifts from God,
That tomorrow you'll take them to places.

The next day comes and the first thing you see,
Are cartoons and swordplay and then,
The promise you made to your children before,
Flies right out of the window again.

Sometimes when the world is hectic and rushed,
When your time and your patience wear thin.
Things pass you by, and just lay about,
And await your attention again.

As you tostle their hair, and walk out the door,
You hear their two voices shout,
"We love you Daddy. Can we come along?"
And when you say "no", how they pout!

When the workday is done, and you pull in the drive,
Out rush two bundles of fire.
"Daddy can we?....Look what I did!"
You smile but think, "Man I'm tired."

When dinner is done, and you start to unwind,
You sit down and then close your eyes.
Up rushes one, a book under his arm,
You then tell him "No", and he sighs.

Once again it is dark, and they are asleep,
In you creep and you smile at the sight,
Of these wondrous kids and their marvelous love,
Then you think, "Tomorrow I might."

Sometimes when the world is hectic and rushed,
When your time and your patience wear thin,
Things pass you by, and just lay about,
And await you attention again.

Let me tell you my friend that tomorrow does come,
And after that there is more.
But your children they sit and patiently wait,
For the time when you walk through the door.

All they want is some time to spend with you.
To wrestle, to swing, or to play.
They don't care 'bout money, or stocks or reports,
They just wish to be part of your day.

That was me I described with these very words,
Somehow I just never had time.
There always seemed to be other things,
That pushed the kids out of the line.

My intentions were good but my deeds fell short,
Prioroties should have been changed,
The children, they must come first,
The schedule can be rearranged.

You see for me it's too late, I don't see them to much,
I now live so far away.
And as I look back I just sit and cry,
At how selfish I was in those days.

Oh to hear those words, to read those books,
To just spend more time with them.
Your children will wait, but then all too soon,
They won't be around again.

Sometimes when the world is hectic and rushed,
When your tie and your patience wear thin.
Things pass you by, and just lay about,
And await your attention again.
Written by Paul Pishnak

~~ Author Unknown ~~

Dear World:
I bequeath to you today one little girl
in a crisp dress...with two blue eyes...and a happy laugh that ripples all day long
and a flash of light blond hair that bounces in the sun when she runs.
I trust you'll treat her well.
She's slipping out of the backyard of my heart this morning
and skipping down the street to her first day of school.
And never again will she be completely mine.
Prim and proud she'll wave her young and independent hand this morning
and say "Good-bye" and walk with little lady steps to the schoolhouse.
Now she'll learn to stand in lines
and wait by the alphabet for her name to be called.
She'll learn to tune her ears for the sounds of school-bells
and deadlines...and she'll learn to giggle...and gossip
and look at the ceiling in a disinterested way when the little boy
across the aisle sticks out his tongue at her. And, now she'll learn to be jealous.
And now she'll learn how it is to feel hurt inside.
And now she'll learn how not to cry.
No longer will she was time to sit on the front porch steps on a summer day
and watch an ant scurry across the crack in the sidewalk.
Nor will she have time to pop out of bed with the dawn
and kiss lilac blooms in the morning dew.
No, now she'll worry about those important things
like grades and which dress to wear and whose best friend is whose.
And the magic of books and learning
will replace the magic of her blocks and dolls.
And now she'll find new heroes.
For five full years now I've been her sage and Santa Claus
and pal and playmate and father and friend.
Now she'll learn to share her worship with her teachers
which is only right. But, no longer will I be
the smartest, greatest man in the whole world.
Today when that school bell rings for the first time
she'll learn what it means to be a member of the group
with all its privileges and its disadvantages too.
She'll learn in time that proper young ladies do not
laugh out loud...or kiss dogs...or keep frogs in pickle jars in bedrooms
or even watch ants scurry across cracks in sidewalks in summer.
Today she'll learn for the first time that
all who smile at her are not her friends.
And I'll stand on the front porch and watch her
start out on the long, lonely journey to becoming a woman.
So, world, I bequeath to you today one little girl
in a crisp dress...with two blue eyes...and a flash of light blond hair
that bounces in the sunlight when she runs.
I trust you'll treat her well.