Her Little Shadows

My mom recently found an old book called Dear Mother: Beautiful Writings of Praise, Love and Gratitude and read a poem to me that reminded her of my son & me. I have to share it because it's such a sweet reminder to mothers of young children.

Her Little Shadows

by Martha Wadsworth

I saw a young mother 

With eyes full of laughter, 

And two little shadows

Came following after. 

Wherever she moved, 

They were always right there - 

Holding on to her skirts, 

Hanging on to her chair, 

Before her, behind her - 

An adhesive pair. 

"Don't you ever get weary

As day after day

Your two little tagalongs

Get in your way?"

She smiled as she shook 

Her pretty young head, 

And I'll always remember 

The words that she said: 

"It's good to have shadows

That run when you run, 

That laugh when you're happy 

And hum when you hum - 

For you only have shadows

When your life's filled with sun!"

source

Now that my son is crawling, he literally follows me around the house. It's so endearing but every once in a while if I really need to get something done, it can get a little frustrating. In those moments I try to remember this sweet little poem and be grateful for this precious phase of my life. I know that one day, when he's all grown up, my heart will long to have him here again, following me around and sitting at my feet once more.

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If you're needing a little extra encouragement today, head on over to Rachel at Finding Joy and check out this beautiful, uplifting post for mothers of young children.