Three Ten Year Olds

Becoming a stepparent is one of the most difficult things that I’ve ever done. When I first met my husband, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I thought I knew, since I have a step-dad and stepsisters, but I really didn’t know. It was like me saying that I knew what being a mom was all about because I was a daughter. I didn’t know.

Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about what it take to be a bonus mom. It takes a lot of sacrifice and a lot of deep breathing. I wouldn’t change anything for the world. My bonus sons have taught me how to be a better and bigger person, more so than I ever thought I was capable. I talked a lot about taking the high road, but I didn’t do a lot of it. I was never really required to. They have pushed me over and over again to love unconditionally and give without question. That is a gift that I can never repay.

Yesterday was my bonus boys sixteenth birthday. In commemoration of this event, I’m publishing a poem that I wrote for them six years ago. I wrote the poem in a literature class that I was taking at The Loft in Minneapolis. It’s cheesy. It’s not Frost. But the poem does sum up how I feel about the boys and how much they have given to me once I took the opportunity to look for it.

Three Ten Year Olds
by Tracie Yule

I ponder Earth’s greatest woe
Of testing all that I know
Inside the bodies of three ten year olds.

They were not born of my flesh.
What I knew, I know less and less.
Somehow I find myself quite blessed.

Before, the joy in life I did find
In all the things that were confined;
The boundless spirit they did define.

Their knowledge they did impart
And stuffed it inside my craggy old heart,
And gave my life a brand new start.

Now I look about me and see,
Life’s little mysteries
Revealed to me
Inside the souls of three ten year olds.

Happy Birthday Captain America, Green Lantern and Thor!

FreeVerse is a weekly meme created by Ooh…Books. The idea behind the meme is to celebrate poetry is some way or fashion. Write your own or share a poem that you love. All is welcome with this meme.