The World, Their Stage

Brave new world, big wide stage, brand new play
Act one: we watched enrapt, they peed, they cried, and yes! rolled-over
Each coo, each rash, something to document, and treasure
Our days now, unpredictable to a lesser degree. Harder to quantify, as each stage
Pounces, unannounced, and catches us unprepared
For mean girls, dirty looks, loose teeth

All those books, yet not one chapter dedicated to the value of lost teeth
We struggle to decipher tears and fevers, but what to pay? How to play
At tooth fairy? Welcome back, proud gummy grin, you caught me unprepared
Won me over
To this post-baby phase where stage after stage
Flies by, blows in with wonder, and pain. I am learning to slow down, to treasure

Unexpected moments. In the quiet eye of the storm I sift for treasure
Buried within life’s unpredictable debris. Kindergarten past in a flash, now teeth
Are jumping ship. Actors in their own right, manning their stage
With confidence, (dare I say perfection?) Redefining their roles, it’s their play
They decide on their own who they will be, this bowls me over
I may sit here unprepared

But they are ready to conquer the world. Not anxious, never unprepared
Though I would affix training wheels to their sides, protect my treasure
Raise them like so much veal, sheltered until all storms blow over
But no, I know they must cut their teeth
Fall down and bloody their knees. First bike. First grade. First time singing in a play
Belting out their own tunes on such a big stage

Ready or not, here they come, my baby (not a baby, I know) up on stage
Brave loud proud, it is not my child who is unprepared
Raring to go, she doesn’t need me to orchestrate her days, her play
How many sleepless nights did I think eagerly of the treasure
Of this independence? Ridiculous to miss those teeny tiny teeth
They march enthusiastically onward. What about me? Should I start over

With diapers, and endless nights and life splattered out all over
What a mess. But the awe, the awe of each achievement, each stage
Was incredible, remember? Sitting up. Reaching a cheerio. Cutting new teeth
Of course we were laughably unprepared
Who could anticipate the momentous weight of such a tiny treasure
Rendering our lives forever unrecognizable. Suspenseful mystery, this play

Gone are baby teeth, and it’s time for me to get over
it. Embrace plot twists in the play. I may be gripped with stage
Fright, unprepared. But look how sweet my treasure.