"I will" not "I would have done"...

The other day I came across the following poem which I thought followed on nicely from my last blog post. 

It'd be easy I think to read it and feel guilty about what we have failed to do today, or this week, with our children. But my intention is not to have us all wallowing in guilt. The reality of family life is that there are always jobs to be done and other things that need our attention: we cannot be super-mum all of the time, but we can, I believe, all be a super mum some of the time. And this poem when I read it encouraged me to live in the present, to enjoy my children and to take time for them to enjoy being with me. 

If I Had My Child to Raise Over Again

by Diane Loomans

If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd build self esteem first, and the house later.
I'd fingerpaint more, and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I would care to know less and know to care more.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging and less tugging.
I'd see the oak tree in the acorn more often.
I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I'd model less about the love of power,
And more about the power of love.

Instead of reading this poem in the past tense and living with regret, how much more powerful would it be, I wonder, if it were in the future tense; a statement of intent, not for every minute of every day because that would be unrealistic, but for snatched wonderful moments of each day.