"Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself..." - Khalil Gibran

...and so I called him after lunch on a Friday, eaten by regret that I was too harsh with him for not writing down his homework, leading to my punishing him by withholding a story at bedtime, and because, still vindictive, I lashed out at him for lingering too long at the breakfast table the next morning.

So I called him and I told him I was sorry.


And he said: "That's alright, Mom. You're my only Mommy, and you're beautiful, and I love you!"

Oh be still my guilty beating heart! To be over-loved and outclassed by my achingly sweet, wonderfully forgiving little boy.

I may never forgive myself.

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"...they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams..."