Paper, Paint, And Crayons

Eighteen years, a thousand fears,
Yet countless joyful times.
A tiny baby smiles just once,
Her Daddy's heart it binds.

A toddler cries with tearful eyes,
That only Mom can dry.
The little girl so cute in pink
Decides what clothes she'll try.

Her favorite pastime soon becomes
All paper, paint, and crayons.
Some years go by, she's growing fast,
No longer holds our hands.

She struggles some along the way,
We hope she feels our love.
The strength she needs takes all she has,
She's all we're thinking of.

The sun breaks through, she finds her way,
The clouds begin to clear.
And every day that passes now,
Each one we hold so dear.

She'll leave us soon to spread her wings,
A dream or two to find.
We know her life's forever bound
To these roots she leaves behind.

We hope she knows how proud we are,
How deep our love resides.
How much we've learned along the way,
Seeing through our child's eyes.

The paper, paint, and crayons
Through graduation years,
Will always be our most precious ones,
Despite the thousand fears