Just For Today by Sally Meyer

Just for this morning,
I am going to smile when I see your face…
and laugh when I feel like crying.
Just for this morning,
I will let you wake up softly in your flannel p.j.’s…
and hold you until you are ready to stir.
Just for this morning,
I will let you choose what you want to wear…
and I will say how beautiful you are.
Just for this morning,
I will step over the laundry to pick you up…
and take you to the park to play
Just for this morning, I will leave the
dishes in the sink…
and let you teach me how to put your puzzle together.
Just for this afternoon,
I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off…
and sit with you in the garden blowing bubbles.
Just for this afternoon,
I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck…
and I will buy you one, if he comes by.
Just for this afternoon, I won’t worry about what you are going to be when you grow up…
I will simply love you for the joy you bring me
Just for this afternoon,
I will let you help me make cookies…
and I wont stand over you . . .
trying to ‘fix things.’
Just for this afternoon, I will take you to McDonald’s and buy us both a ‘Happy Meal‘…
so you can have two toys.
Just for this evening,
I will hold you in my arms and tell you the story of how you were born…
and how much we love you.
Just for this evening,
I will let you splash in the bathtub…
and I won’t get angry when you pour water over your sister’s head.
Just for this evening,
I will let you stay up late…
while we sit on the porch swing and count all the stars.
Just for this evening,
I will bring you glasses of water…
and snuggle beside you for hours…
and miss my favorite t.v. show.
And tonight when you are sleeping safe and warm in your bed,
I will think of the mothers and fathers who mourn for the children they have lost.
I will remember the parents who sit by hospital beds,
watching over the little ones they love.
I will weep for those parents whose children are cold, hungry and suffering, and ….
this evening, when I kneel down to pray,
I will simply be grateful for all that I have and not ask for anything…
except just one more day.

© copyright 1999 Sally Meyer (written for her autistic son, Dhylan)