What Teachers Make (Taylor Mali)

I love this so much… I need to share it!

Teachers, parents, everyone… I encourage you to view this short video of Taylor Mali’s “What Teachers Make”.

Enjoy!

My Everything

Here’s a quick post before I head off for a crazy day. I  don’t usually write poetry, but I was inspired to write this for my son on August 16th, 2010. Feel free to “like” or offer some feedback 🙂

MY EVERYTHING

You are my everything.
My  very reason for living, breathing and being.

The first moment I saw you, my child,
My heart throbbed instantly and smiled.
I knew an angel had been bestowed upon me,
And although the universe clearly revealed
That you’d be one whose character would try and test,
I vowed that I’d give you nothing short of my best.

With each passing day I see you grow,
And I can’t help but want to teach you all I know,
Teach you that life isn’t fair but that you must tirelessly fight
For everything in which you believe and for what is just and right.
I want to teach you to muster the courage to chase your fears away,
To never veer from the truth and from the light never to sway,
Teach you to be selfless and to stand for the human race,
To be strong and amongst the world take your place,
To have faith in humanity and for it to do all you can,
To respect others, to value women and to be a real man…
And if you ask what my biggest dream for you might be,
I’ll say in a heartbeat, for you to always be the best man you can be.

As you go about your day, soothing me with your laughter and revelling in what it means to be a child,
I daydream about the past, the present and the future with a tender smile.
And as you sleep, I’m enthralled by your presence and gaze at your beautiful moonlit face,
And in all my humility, I thank God for filling my life with so much grace.
Because you are the source of my inspiration and happiness,
My definition of unconditional love and my very essence.
And as I listen to you breathe, I pray to be the mom that I am meant to be,
Since I know that in my hands lies an immense responsibility.

So in all of my fragility, vulnerability and humanity, I’ll teach you all I know.
I promise to be there for you, support you in your endeavours and encourage you to grow,
And although my love for you is pure, I know that I might make mistakes,
I’m not perfect, I might lose my patience sometimes but I know I’ve got what it takes.
I’ll right my wrongs, I’ll strive to be strong and show you just how much I care
Because you, my little ray of eternal sunshine, are my everything… and I’ll always be there.