Reality

Years ago, a sweet homeschooling mother
Was talking to a single mom.
Both had daughters going through puberty.

And when the sweet mother mentioned
Her sweet daughter sometimes slammed doors,
The single mother started to laugh and said,

And all this time I worried that it was
The public school influence on my child!
I would never have guessed you dealt with that, too!

Recently, I spoke with a man who admitted
Fistfights with a brother for the bathroom.
My sons are still at an age of fistfights for a toy.

It gives me hope for my sons, who scuffle,
And then play, and then scuffle again,
That perhaps they will turn out okay.

I can wish for perfect self-control,
But there is time for that, too,
And more growing up that they need to do.