I received the following poem from my 10 year old daughter today….
Dear Mom:
I love you a lot,
I’ll love you till the world rots,
I know that I whine,
I know it’s not pleasant,
But instead of saying sorry,
Here’s a little present. (a present was attached)
You take care of me when I don’t feel good,
You do all the laundry, you cook all the food.
You clean up the house when it’s a really big mess,
But I don’t get why I can’t have a Nintendo DS? (a running discussion between us)
This poem’s about to come to an end,
But before it is finished I have one thing to say-
I love you a lot Mom,
Happy Mother’s Day!
Ah, I think the exciting data has been displaced from my pocket for now- while my 10 year old reminds me of the distinction between my job and my life. And no honey, you can’t have a Nintendo DS or a Wii…but I’ll get ya your own blog…
Blue Lab Coats 
Wonderful! That is the essence of pre-teen child! Happy Mothers’ Day!
acmegirl-
Thanks! and wow, I am feeling like we are already coming out of pre-teen and into teen… and I’M NOT READY YET!!
And Happy Mother’s Day to you too!
My gift was a hand-made insect, that read “Mom, you are my favorite person to BUG”. That appropriately describes my 8-year old’s view of his Mom. (and he wants a Nintendo DS, too!).
Kik-
That’s awesome! I’m sure it has a place of honor on your desk or bench!
Wow.
She’s a poet
and she doesn’t even know it!
Sorry….couldn’t resist.
Anonymoustache-
Indeed. My dad introduced her to Shel Silverstein and now she loves poetry…which… is a great thing.