On the Job Training
They made me get a license
before I drove a car.
To practice as a lawyer
I had to pass the bar.
To teach somebody’s children
demanded school and testing.
For me to be a parent
took only sperm and nesting.
Despite my lack of training,
when Casey Barr was born,
Nurse Nancy brought her to me
that cold December morn.
With all her toes and fingers
accounted for she said,
“Your daughter wants to meet you,"
then laid her in my bed.
“I don’t know what I’m doing!”
is what I wished to say,
but after some instructions
she sent us on our way.
The real chance I would drop her
was then my biggest fear
and second was a failure
to read the cries I’d hear.
I longed for a decoder
to tell which cry meant what,
so I could be more certain
instead of trust my gut.
But somehow we got through it,
albeit sleep deprived.
We added two more daughters;
all three of them survived.
I know at times I blundered;
my husband did as well.
No doubt the repercussions
a skillful shrink could tell.
And yet, without the training,
I think we did alright.
With college years behind them,
their futures all look bright:
a vet, a first lieutenant,
and film producer too.
But don't believe it's over;
a parent's never through.
Inspired by a Writer's Cramp prompt asking us to write about learning a new skill.
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