Glow- Up, Grow-Up
By Camry C. Hardy

As a little boy, I stayed in the yard all day to play
As the sun went down I cried to stay
Mom would yell,” it’s time to come in” so I would gather my toys and put them in my wagon
Why the long face? my mother would say
Knowing running and playing was all boys’s loved to do
At that age I wasn’t into girls, electronics weren’t popular and neither was YouTube
She had not taken into account that one day that would all change
Before she would know it her little boy would be coming of age.
Seems like one day I would sit in her lap, now all of a sudden I’m asking for cash, and shoes, and clothes and all that I see, a teenager’s wish list as long as the sea.
“Where has my baby gone?” my mother would ask, no longer a toddler but now becoming a man.
I’ve grown so tall and have hair on my chin; even my voice takes a deep dive every now and then.
Reality has set in that I’ll be soon leaving the nest, mom’s emotions all over and she in a complete mess.
I am the first one to fly the coop, her oldest son she would soon give the boot.
I looked in the mirror and thought “what’s all the fuss for? It was actually then I saw a new man that I hadn’t seen before. He was strong and confident all that and more.
My mom and done her job to raise me as best as she can all the way from a baby to a successful young man.
As I start a new chapter and in pursuit of my degree, my goal is to make my mom very proud of me. All the lessons and values she instilled into me, me receiving my Bachelor’s I hope she will see.