‘Time flies so fast,
in the blink of an eye, it’s way back in the past.
Romi used to love me holding her hand,
giving it a squeeze,
now I cannot do as I please – no more squeeze.
She used to love sitting on my knee, cuddling in,
with her choochy grin,
now, no more, that’s the law,
and I’ve just got to take it on the chin.
Now, she’s 18, an adolescent teenager,
and I suppose, because of my age,
I’m a dinosaur, a bit of a stranger.
But, often, she smiles in my direction,
a smile from ear to ear,
it’s love, it’s clear,
and, on some days, she does want to be my friend,
watch a movie with me, from beginning to end.
Ziv, now 21, he used to think that I was a king,
now, he’s just busy doing his thing.
“Come on, dad, let’s swim together!”
he used to shout from pools,
and in I’d plunge,
bobbing up and down,
making funny faces, playing the clown.
It’s hard to accept that they aren’t children any longer,
but I know that, deep down, the love’s still there,
that it is even stronger,
that it strengthens by the day,
grows deeper in many ways.
We’ve still got Raphael at home,
and this time we must savour,
because, in the blink of an eye,
it’ll be another “goodbye”,
and Yaf and I will be on our own,
we’ll be all alone.
Maybe by the time Raphael thinks he should be going,
there’ll be a grandchild growing,
and we have to go through these ages
to get to those stages.
So, not empty nest syndrome yet,
but going to miss Ziv when he goes to England to study law,
when he walks through the door.
Going to miss Romi when she goes to mechina,
when it has been weeks since we’ve seen her.
Got to savour the present,
live in the moment,
feel gratitude,
for that is the attitude which warms the heart and soul,
which stops us falling apart and keeps us feeling whole.’ – Koby
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