How To Grow Up
How To Grow Up
Stand up straight.
Don’t play with your food.
Don’t talk back to me.
Don’t be so rude.
Elbows off the table.
Feet on the floor.
If you don’t finish what you have
You can’t have any more.
Hands out of your pockets.
How was school today?
Were you born in a barn?
The door swings the other way.
Don’t be greedy:
Be thankful for what you’ve got.
Appreciate the good times:
Things go wrong a lot.
Cherish love and champion it.
Stand up for the weak.
But never sink to fighting:
Turn the other cheek.
Be good to others, always.
Apologise when you’re not.
Stay close, because in the end
Family’s all you’ve got.
Breaking heart’s is easy,
But don’t regret the past.
Never waste a moment:
Life goes by so fast.
Let your morals guide you
Even against the crowd.
Remember this: I love you
And you have always made me proud.
Now that I’m no longer a child, it’s funny to hear these sayings and realize they were not as ridiculous as when my parents said them to me.
eden
I think that’s the inevitable and yet poignant thing about growing up; we realise that our parents were just humans doing as best they could and that, mostly, they were right because they made us into such excellent people.
Thanks for commenting, Eden!
xx
It is heartening to know that you remember the sayings but also that they helped build you into the man you are albeit subconsciously and yes the last 2 lines are always true xx
Hard to forget them after hearing them so often! But undoubtedly worth it and thank you. They’re true from me to you too.
This is very special, Nick, and clever too. I like the simple rhyme scheme, which works, but above all, it has a turn, a very moving turn, in its conclusion. Bravo and well done!
Thanks very much, I’m glad that it struck a cord!
Guess you now realise why we said the things we did, and makes me realised they came down fro when my mum said them to me! Perhaps one day you will find yourself saying them to your kids as well xx
We all switch our roles in turn, as each new generation comes xx