Growing pains

We are all brought into this world in the same way.
It is a painful experience for mother and child.

Life is lived, then we are taken from this world.

This too is a painful experience for mother and child.

With birth's pain also comes joy,
The joy of a new life.

A blank sheet of paper in the book of life,
waiting to be filled in one line at a time.

The first breath,
the air of a strange new world,
never before known.

Gone forever is
the security that once was,
inside the mother's body.

This tiny little human child,
unable to care for itself in any way.

Unable to control
even the most basic of functions.

The first feeding,
a whole new way
to obtain nourishment.
The first tooth,
to be followed by many others.

The first steps, the stumbling,
the falls, the bumps and bruises.

So much to learn.

A seemingly overwhelming task lays ahead.

Learning how to survive
in this world of ours.

Along with all these firsts
comes the first diapers.
The potty training.
Feeding ones self,
dressing, cleaning,
grooming, all things
that must be mastered.

As time passes we grow
and learn to survive for ourselves.

A living must be forged
out of this world.

Much sweat and toiling is required
to succeed in this game of life.

Success, a thing measured in
our accomplishments,
our achievements,
our worldly possessions,
and of course our memories.

Life is lived, and we age.

The time comes when
we start to have problems
doing many of the things
that it took us all these years to learn.

Our bodies become tired, and worn out.

There comes a time when
we can't do many of the simplest of things
that we once took for granted.

Merely getting out of a chair
seems to takes all we have.

Walking, each step,
a painful experience.

Should we live that long,
a time will come
that we need
the same type of care
as we did in our earliest years.

We will have to have our needs
fulfilled by others.

As in the beginning,
we will once again require
feeding, washing, grooming,
and yes, even diapers.

Should we be lucky our minds
will still be in tacted,
for after all the work of our lives,
all we will have to show
for it is our memories,
the treasures of our mind,
and the love shared
with family and friend.
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