There Was a Child Went Forth

There Was a Child Went Forth

There was a child went forth every day;
And the first object she look’d upon, that object she became;
And that object became part of her for the day, or a certain part of
That day, or for many years, or stretching cycles of years.

Snapped peas from the garden became part of her,
And piano lessons, and the backyard swing, and sleeping on Grandma’s hill on the
Fourth of July, and kisses behind the ear,
Walking to cousins houses, and laying by the fireplace after sledding on the snow,
And playing tag around the whole cul-de-sac, fun-machine,
And homemade chocolate chip cookies, don’t spill the beans, tying shoes, and uncles
Living in the basement downstairs – all became part of this child.

And her parents, loving and kind,
Their hard work ethic and service became part of her.
Their example rendered, in this child, a strong testimony of right.
Her mother’s humor and comfort and support
And her father’s unwavering steadiness,
The knowledge of the absence of green in her hair,
And the peace of having unrelenting love all became part of this child.

Then S. Elementary became part of this child
And walking to school with sister, and creative writing about toothpaste,
Reading Franklin and Berenstein Bears to mom, and running on the big hill at recess.
Then moving to Texas, and attending B. Elementary became part of this child
And spelling tests and bees, and riding bikes to school, and reading Harry Potter and
The Borrowers at night, and trips to the emergency room and orthodontist,
Long bike rides with dad and fifth grade strings became part of this child.

Then K. Intermediate School became part of this child, new friends, honors classes,
Private viola lessons now and then, UIL for orchestra, and a fun trip to Galveston.
Volleyball and swim team, athletic class, riding the hot stinky smelly bus to and from
School, chain reactions in Mrs. E.’s class, a new language of spanish, and lots
of maps continued to mold this child.
Summer swim team became part of her, every Saturday at a swim meet, and babysitting
jobs every weekend.
Spending time with Heather at every spare moment, and a new found love of Target
became a part of this child.

Then came early morning seminary, and high school that followed became part of this
child.
Learning how to deal with different people, discovering the snooze button, and life long
lessons discovered before the sun rose.
Dance classes, hours and hours of orchestra –enough to last a lifetime, but her love of the
viola held deep, AP classes, cat dissections, never being tardy, new friends, and
old friends moving, pointless projects, new information, eye opening experiences,
PALS, and discoveries that would change her outlook forever.
After school came work, first at N. Books by K., then moved to T.I.T.P. by R.,

three to eight and weekends.

Getting a driver’s license and deeming the 92 Honda Accord, "Curbie," flooding, toilet
paper, curbs, eggs, car paint, no air conditioning, and two blown out tires.
Family trips to Disney, camping weekends, EFY’s, conquering Enchanted Rock,
fireworks in Wyoming, Youth Conferences, Jack Black, Princess and the Frog,
American Idol.

Carefree childhood silently left this child and was replaced by going green, ozone
depletion, and demolition of the rain forests.
There was a constant war after one heart shattering September day, followed by unity,
Various service projects of care packages, letters, and support.
Soon ipods, itouches, iphones, laptops, gps’, internet phones, wifi, digital cameras,
kindles, blue-ray dvds, high definition tv, and wireless computers, evolved
around this child from a time when a camera phone was rare.

These became a part of that child who went forth every day, and who now goes, and will
always go forth every day.

-C. Merrell,
class of 2010

C. wrote that poem for her Senior Project. It still makes me cry every time I read it, but it also makes me realize how every choice a parent makes affects the child. Many of the things she mentions were things I had forgotten, but they still shaped who she is today.

Ya, I'm proud of her. :)