It truly is one of "The Best of Times". There will be other momentous events in the years to come of course but none will cause the memory of that moment to fade or be diminished.  Because I believe this so totally it absolutely breaks my heart when I read or hear of a child who has  the misfortune to be of so little value to  those who have given them life and who have abused or abandoned a little one who only asks to be loved. Children have few demands. I don't count the responsibility of parenthood as a demand. It is a right and a privilege and one for which we should thank God. To be so shallow or devoid of feeling as to deny  that wee being what is so easy to give is beyond my comprehension. How can one NOT love a tiny baby or a wee tot so filled with wonderment as they discover the world around them ? Yes, I know some consider children an inconvenience interrupting their routine but then why did they choose to  create that life  if they were not prepared to make the commitment  which that decision necessitates?

 I am seldom judgemental  but with regard to this subject I plead guilty. There are exceptions of course. The youngster who finds herself carrying a child when she is really still a child herself  and who has used bad judgment which led to the  creation of a new life is of course exempt from censure by me. If that wee baby is fortunate enough that the young mother chooses to allow her child to join a family who will provide what she cannot then she is in my opinion showing infinite love for that wee one by allowing her own feelings to take second place to that of her child. She will not in her lifetime perform a more motherly gesture.

 The judgmental  factor enters the equation when a woman of  an age to know better chooses to bring a child into the world for which she  shows no regard or consideration. How that wee one must pine for someone to show them the warmth and love they so desperately  need and to which they are absolutely, irrefutably  entitled ! How can any woman, for I refuse to compliment such with the title of 'Mother', not love  her child ? If I were to live my entire life over again I would still not have the answer to that query. Looking into the face of such a child, so hungry for something of which they have no understanding but nevertheless are seeking so desperately,  surely would break the heart of any loving, caring adult. The only thing which  would make one feel more sadness is to know that all too many of the children brought into this world by such selfish, irresponsible cretins are not only deprived of affection but abused physically in addition to the abuse inflicted by the uncaring parent. How does God let such happen ?  Would it not have been better if that wee infant had never been born?

 How is any life, no matter how tragic, better than no life ? It just isn't so. Children deserve love. They have an absolute right to be cared for and protected and to know that those charged with their care are to be trusted and counted on to be there to love them  always. Sadly, in today's world this is too often not so. Those people should not be parents. The children so deprived of such  an essential relationship are the problems of tomorrow with which society must deal. Some will overcome those shortcomings in their upbringing and become stronger for having endured to be sure but the vast majority of those so cheated  of their right will spend a lifetime resenting and missing what they do not even recognize or understand. 

 Parenting is , I believe, the most important task you will ever  take on and there is another area where children too often get short changed by life. Society today  even with all it's advances, or perhaps because of those advances,  has so many pitfalls. Many well intentioned couples have every intention of  doing their very  best for their children but unfortunately in today's modern world with all it's demands and challenges, and  everyone's desire to provide all the 'bells and whistles' for their families, far too many children miss out on the early closeness and bonding which will  serve to prepare them for life and strengthen them in a way which will make it possible for them to cope with what ever life throws their way. 

I am in no way suggesting these well intentioned young parents are not doing everything possible to provide for their much loved children. I am however suggesting that perhaps we have lost much of our perspective as to what really is important in providing the very best for our children.

Parenting is a privilege but one which comes with strings. It demands commitment.  Sadly a word which many would do well to research in order to discover it's meaning. Over indulgence in material things in order to assuage the guilt of too little time spent with a child is not parenting.  Nor is  a lack of discipline a show of love. It takes time and work to be a parent and one is not always popular with one's child. Be their 'parent' first.  They need parents more than they need buddies or friends.  Parenting frequently makes one the 'bad guy' as your child is growing up. Only once that milestone is achieved do those times of disagreement come into focus and earn the appreciation of your child. Only then do they fully realize just how loved they were as a child.  Time enough then for friendship. They will appreciate the friend more for having first had the parent.

If I could say one thing to a young Mother or Father it would be " Give yourself and your time to your children, it is the absolute best and most precious gift you will ever give to both them and yourself. That is the gift  they will appreciate and remember most in the years to come."

I always remember the little ten year old homeless girl who said  when asked  if she had a home ... " Oh, we have a home ... We just need a house to put it in." 

That's it in a nutshell. She had a home.