Wednesday, January 10, 2007

FAMILY

I received this today and thought you might like to read it. It is a bit sappy, but the ending has an interesting take on the word FAMILY. Enjoy – or not!

F-A-M-I-L-Y

I bumped into a stranger as he passed by.
“Oh, Excuse me please” was my reply.
He said, “Please excuse me, too; wasn’t even watching for you.”
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said good-bye.
But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My daughter stood beside my very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked her down.
“Move out of the way,” I said with a frown.
She walked away, her little heart was broken.
I didn’t realize how harshly I’d spoken.
While I lay awake in bed,
God’s still small voice came to me and said,
“While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,
But the children you love, you seem to abuse.
Look on the kitchen floor,
You’ll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers she brought for you.
She picked them herself: pink, yellow and blue.
She stood quietly not to spoil the surprise,
And you never saw the tears in her eyes.”
By this time I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by her bed;
“Wake up, little girl, wake up,” I said.
“Are these the flowers you picked for me?”
She smiled, “I found ‘em out by the tree.
I picked ’em because they’re pretty like you.
I knew you’d like ‘em, especially the blue.”
I said, “Daughter, I’m sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn’t have yelled at you that way.”
She said, “Oh, Mom, that’s okay. I love you anyway.”
I said, “Daughter, I love you, too,
And I do like the flowers, especially the blue.”

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family – an unwise investment indeed.

So what is behind the poem? Do you know the full meaning of the word family?
FAMILY = (F)ather (A)nd (M)other (I) (L)ove (Y)ou!

10 comments:

Biddie said...

Are you trying to make me cry? That was sappy, but very sweet, and all too true.
When I can get around to fixing my links, I'd like to add you..If you don't mind.

Biddie said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Coffeypot said...

I would be (sniff, sniff) honored to be (umph, sniff) added to you links. That was a sweet, sappy poem, wasn't it? (sniff, sniff)

I don't ordinarily forward stuff like that, but I though the meaning of family (one that I had never heard before) would be appreciated by you bloggers. You just had to go through the sappy shit to get to it. I think I am through crying, now.

KLee said...

That was very sweet. I'll have to remember that one. I will add the last little bit into my spelling lessns as a good way to remember how to spell "family"! :) See - you learn something new everyday!

PS -- glad to hear that your "big scare" was just a scare! Marni would be heartbroken if anything ever happened to you.

Coffeypot said...

Klee, Thank you. I would hate it worse than Marni.

SkippyMom said...

That was so sweet. You're a big ol' softie sometimes, aren't you?

Hugs Coffey!

katy said...

coffeypot that has made my day i love that that FAMILY means i am all blurry eyed now night night x

nancy said...

OMG I am bawling!! That is an amazing poem. And that acronym...going ot get a tissue, or more.

What I really mean to say is, thank you.

Coffeypot said...

skippymom, I’m not a softie, I’m not (stomp my foot.) I’m macho and hard hearted. I am, too.

her indoors and nancy, cut it out. Stop that blubbering. It’s not a true story. Just made up. I didn’t make it up, but it is made up just the same. And I’m not sweet, either. I am mean and macho, I tell ya.

I gotta go. The dogs need kicking. HooRah!

partieweirdo said...

:)