He shows another side- A Poem for Gabriel

When Gabe turned two,

I felt lucky

because he is such a good natured boy.

His smiles come easy

and fill up my heart

 He's so easy going

I thought the hard part was over.

When he was younger than a year

he explored every cupboard

and up went the baby locks

and I thought we were done.

But we're not.

Because guess what?

He discovered the cupboards!

He slides a chair up to the counter

and climbs on,

explores every cupboard

and like a magician 

makes candy appear out of nowhere

and I find him

after he eats it

and the counters are littered

with wrappers and boxes

that he has opened

of pasta, and powerbars
and whatever looks interesting.

So its getting tough around here

especially the day
when he sat on a library book

and ripped the pages

the book cost $22

the thought made me sick

because the book looked brand new

and I knew they would make me replace it

but I said a prayer

to remember what was important

and really it's him

and not $22

but sometimes its hard to see

when he's throwing whole rolls

of toilet paper in the toilet

and screaming

and my ears are ringing

and yet-

that smile

can wipe my frustrations away,

and my prayers for a greater perspective
will be answered

and I know

that this too will pass

and soon enough 

I will be wishing

he was little enough to hold

and missing
his fuzzy head.

So I will keep praying

and loving

and cherishing

and yes,

I will still get mad.

But I am okay with that

as long as I remember

this will not last.

And I will miss it

and him.

And someday I will laugh about it

and tell him that I hope his kids

will pay him back.

And they will

and then I will be

laughing

and 

laughing.