another try (Mark 9:30-37

after reading
     the story to the little
          girl
   (for the 3rd time!),
              you tuck
      the covers under her chin,
  and watching her eyes
     turn into saucers
at the loud voices
from the living room,
                    you whisper gently,
   'don't be afraid; they just
    haven't figured it out
       the way you did.'

picking up the
                 toys
      as you walk
             down
   the hallway, you stop
      at the bedroom door
      which is cracked open
                 just enough
    to see the twin teens
        putting their just bought
        school clothes in the box
                      they marked
   'for kids who really need them'
                and
                    as they glance over,
          you give them a
                  double thumbs up,
     'you got it!'

ignoring the stares
                 of the adults
                 in the room, whose       
thoughts are ricocheting off
           one another,
   you wander over to the corner
        where the crib of the little
        fellow absorbed completely in
        his toes
             has been pushed out of the way,
    and picking him up, you toss
                  him,
          higher and higher in the air,
       and as the sparkle in his eyes
                        matches yours and
             his laughter is echoed by you,
   you glance at the others
                  and whisper,
      'you paying attention?'

(c) 2012  Thom M. Shuman