A weary mother returned from the store,
Lugging groceries through the kitchen door.
Awaiting her arrival was her 8 year old son,
Anxious to relate what his younger brother had done.
“While I was out playing and Dad was on a call,
T.J. took his crayons and wrote on the wall!
It’s on the new paper you just hung in the den.
I told him you’d be mad at having to do it again.”
She let out a moan and furrowed her brow,
“Where is your little brother right now?”
She emptied her arms and with a purposeful stride,
She marched to his closet where he had gone to hide.
She called his full name as she entered his room.
He trembled with fear–he knew that meant doom!
For the next ten minutes, she ranted and raved
About the expensive wallpaper and how she had saved.
Lamenting all the work it would take to repair,
She condemned his actions and total lack of care.
The more she scolded, the madder she got,
Then stomped from his room, totally distraught!
She headed for the den to confirm her fears.
When she saw the wall, her eyes flooded with tears.
The message she read pierced her soul with a dart.
It said, “I love Mommy,” surrounded by a heart.
Well, the wallpaper remained, just as she found it,
With an empty picture frame hung to surround it.
A reminder to her, and indeed to all,
Take time to read the handwriting on the wall.

A baby usually wakes up in the wee-wee hours of the morning.
A child will not spill on a dirty floor.
A young child is a noise with dirt on it.
A youth becomes a man when the marks he wants to leave on the world have
nothing to do with tires.
An unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys.
Avenge yourself; live long enough to be a problem to your children.
Be nice to your kids, for it is they who will choose your nursing home.
God invented mothers because he couldn’t be everywhere at once.
Having children is like having a bowling alley installed in your brain.
Having children will turn you into your parents.
If a child looks like his father, that’s heredity; if he looks like a neighbor, that’s environment.
If you have trouble getting your children’s attention, just sit down and look comfortable.
It now costs more to amuse a child than it once did to educate his father.
It rarely occurs to teenagers that the day will come when they’ll know as
little as their parents.
Money isn’t everything, but it sure keeps the kids in touch.
Never lend your car to anyone to whom you have given birth.
One child is often not enough, but two children can be far too many.
You can learn many things from children… like how much patience you have.
Summer vacation is a time when parents realize that teachers are grossly underpaid.
The first sign of maturity is the discovery that the volume knob also turns to the left.
There would be fewer problems with children if they had to chop wood to keep
the television set going.
Those who say they “sleep like a baby” haven’t got one.

Love starts with a smile, grows into a kiss, and ends with a tear.
Don’t cry over anyone who won’t cry over you.
If love is not a game, why are there so many players?
Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget.
You can only go as far as you push.
Actions speak louder than words.
The hardest thing to do is watch the one you love, love somebody else.
Don’t let the past hold you back, you’re missing the good stuff.
Life’s short. If you don’t look around once in a while you might miss it.
A best friend is like a four leaf clover, hard to find, and lucky to have.
Some people make the world special just by being in it.
Best friends are the siblings G~d forgot to give us.
When it hurts to look back, and you’re scared to look ahead, you ; can look
beside you and your best friend will be there.
True friendship never ends.
Friends are forever.
Good friends are like stars…You don’t always see them, but you know they are always there.
Don’t frown. You never know who is falling in love with your smile.

What do you do when the only person who can make you stop crying
is the person who made you cry?

Nobody is perfect until you fall in love with him/her.
Everything is okay in the end. If it’s not okay, then it’s not the end.

Most people walk in and out of your life, but only friends leave footprints in your heart.

  Life isn’t about keeping score.
  It’s not about how many friends you have
  Or how accepted you are.
  Not about if you have plans this weekend or if you’re alone.
  It isn’t about who you’re dating, who you used to date, how many people you’ve
  dated, or if you haven’t been with anyone at all.
  It isn’t about who you have kissed.
  It’s not about sex.
  It isn’t about who your family is or how much money they have.
  Or what kind of car you drive.
  Or where you are sent to school.
  It’s not about how beautiful or ugly you are.
  Or what clothes you wear, what shoes you have on, or what kind of music you
  listen to.
  It’s not about if your hair is blonde, red, black, or brown.
  Or if your skin is too light or too dark.
  Not about what grades you get, how smart you are, how smart everybody else
  thinks you are, or how smart standardized tests say you are.
  It’s not about what clubs you’re in or how good you are at “your” sport.
  It’s not about representing your whole being on a piece of paper and seeing
  who will “accept” the written you.
  LIFE JUST ISN’T.
  But, life is about who you love and who you hurt.
  It’s about who you make happy or unhappy purposefully.
  It’s about keeping or betraying trust.
  It’s about friendship, used as a sanctity or a weapon.
  It’s about what you say and mean, maybe hurtful, maybe heartening.
  About starting rumors and contributing to petty gossip.
  It’s about what judgments you pass and why. And who your judgments are spread  to.
  It’s about who you’ve ignored with full control and intention.
  It’s about jealousy, fear, ignorance, and revenge.
  It’s about carrying inner hate and love, letting it grow, and spreading it.
  But most of all, it’s about using your life to touch or poison other people’s
  hearts in such a way that could have never occurred alone.

Only you choose the way those hearts are affected, and those choices are what life’s all about.

  When you are sad, I will get you drunk and help you plot
  revenge against the scum sucking bastard/bitch who made you sad.

  When you are scared, I will laugh at you and tease
  you about it every chance I get.

  When you are worried, I will tell you how much worse
  it could be and to quit complaining.

  When you are confused, I will use little words
  to explain it to your dumb ass.

  When you are sick, I will hold your hair while you
  pay homage to the porcelain god.

  When you fall, I will point and laugh at your clumsy ass.
  This is my oath; I pledge till the end.

  Why you may ask? Because you’re my friend.

Robert Fulghum

    Share everything.
    Play fair.
    Don’t hit people.
    Put things back where you found them.
    Clean up your own mess.
    Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
    Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.
    Wash your hands before you eat.
    Flush.
    Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
    Live a balanced life–learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing
    and dance and play and work every day some.
    Take a nap every afternoon.
    When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.

Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the  plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are  all like that.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup–they all die. So do we.

And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned–the biggest word of all–LOOK.

    Now I lay me down to sleep,
    I pray my sanity to keep.
    For if some peace I do not find,
    I’m pretty sure I’ll lose my mind.
    I pray I find a little quiet
    Far from the daily family riot.
    May I lie back–not have to think
    about what they’re stuffing down the sink,
    or who they’re with, or where they’re at
    and what they’re doing to the cat.
    I pray for time all to myself
    (did something just fall off a shelf?)
    To cuddle in my nice, soft bed
    (Oh no, another goldfish–dead!)
    Some silent moments for goodness sake
    (Did I just hear a window break?)
    And that I need not cook or clean–
    (well heck, I’ve got the right to dream)
    Yes now I lay me down to sleep,
    I pray my wits about me keep,
    But as I look around I know–
    I must have lost them long ago!

    Now I lay me down to sleep,
    The king-size bed is soft and deep..
    I sleep right in the center groove
    My human cannot hardly move!
    I’ve trapped her legs, she’s tucked in tight
    And here is where I pass the night
    No one disturbs me or dares intrude
    Till morning comes and “I want food!”
    I sneak up slowly to begin
    my nibbles on my human’s chin.
    She wakes up quickly,
    I have sharp teeth-
    And my claws I will unsheath
    For the morning here
    and it’s time to play
    always seem to get my way.
    So thank you Lord for giving me
    This human person that I see.
    The one who hugs me and holds me tight
    And sacrifices her bed at night!