;-)

Before I was a Mom/Dad

Here are two versions of this poem.

Before I was a Mom Before I was a Dad

Before I was a Mom
I made and ate hot meals.
I had unstained clothing.
I had quiet conversations on the phone.

Before I was a Mom
I slept as late as I wanted
   And never worried about how late
   I got into bed.
I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mom,
I cleaned my house each day.
I never tripped over toys
   or forgot words to lullabies.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't worry whether or not my
   plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been pooped on,
   Spit up on,
   Chewed on,
   Peed on,
   Or pinched by tiny fingers.

Before I was a Mom,
I had complete control of myself;
   My thoughts,
   My body,
   And my mind.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so that doctors could do tests or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't
   want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
   when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew something so small could affect my
   life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of having my
   heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel
   to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a
   Mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
   could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of
   the night every ten minutes to make
   sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
   The joy,
   The love,
   The heartache,
   The wonderfulment,
   Or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so
   much before I was a Mom.

Before I was a Dad
I made and ate hot meals.
I had unstained clothing.
I had quiet conversations on the phone.

Before I was a Dad
I slept as late as I wanted
   And never worried about how late
   I got into bed.
I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Dad,
I didn't worry whether or not my
   plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Dad
I had never been pooped on,
   Spit up on,
   Chewed on,
   Peed on,
   Or pinched by tiny fingers.

Before I was a Dad
I had complete control of myself;
   My thoughts,
   My body,
   And my mind.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Dad.
I never held down a screaming child
   so that doctors could do tests or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Dad
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't
   want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
   when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew something so small could affect my
   life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Dad.

Before I was a Dad,
I didn't know the feeling of having my
   heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel
   to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a
   Father and his child.
I didn't know that something so small
   could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Dad,
I had never gotten up in the middle of
   the night every ten minutes to make
   sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
   The joy,
   The love,
   The heartache,
   The wonderfulment,
   Or the satisfaction of being a Dad.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so
  much before I was a Dad.

Author Unknown.
I'm trying somewhat-actively to research this and find out for sure who it is. Once I have anything definite I'll post it here. If anyone knows for sure the real author of this version, or can point me to some verification, please email me.

Some notes so far:

  • 3/23 - 6/23/04: One person says that it is listed in New Zealand copyright as being (c) in 1995 to author: Samantha Dugan. And that she died in 1997 of a brain tumor. I have an email address supposedly for her daughter and am following up on that line of research (no response yet). If anyone has any confirming information for Samatha Dugan, PLEASE email me.
  • 3/23/04: This site says it was "Written By Marie Garrett for her son Matthew." Trying to follow up...
  • According the Internet Archive, the poem version above has been around since at least September 2000.
  • Some sites say it is Ruth Bourdon and point to this Ruth Bourdon, but she says it is not hers. She says she's had a copy since at least 1997.
  • Sharon Twitchell says she wrote a similar poem in 2002. It seems not to be the original though based upon dates, and may be an unintentionally similar poem. Not sure how that came about.

"I feel that I was put on this earth
just to take care of them."
-Marc Forno, author of the 'Dad' modified version.

P.S. As a parent myself, I can say whoever wrote this sure got this right... wow! ~jeff