I Like Myself

Our weekly trips to the library have become a tradition for us and a way to address feelings, having good character, adoption, family, etc through our daily reading of books. So many times children's books get it right and have a great lesson for everyone. I Like Myself just so happens to be one of those books. Anthony thought the girl's hair was silly and he giggled at the illustrations; I loved the life message. Maybe some of it will sink in and resonate as he continues to grow and develop. I don't even want to think about A as a teenager...

I like myself!
I'm glad I'm me.
There's no one else I'd rather be.
I like my eyes, my ears, my nose.
I like my fingers and my toes.
I like me wild.
I like me tame.
I like me different and the same.
I like me fast. I like me slow.
I like me everywhere I go.
I like me on the inside, too,
for all I think and say and do.
Inside, outside, upside down,
from head to toe and all around,
I like it all! It all is me!
And me is all I want to be.
And I don't care in any way
what someone else may think or say.
I may be called a silly nut
or crazy cuckoo bird - so what?
I'm having too much fun, you see,
for anything to bother me!
Even when I look a mess,
I still don't like me any less,
'cause nothing in this world, you know,
can change what's deep inside, and so...
No matter if they stop and stare,
no person
ever
anywhere
can make me feel that what they see
is all there really is to me.
I'd still like me with fleas or warts,
or with a silly snout that snorts,
or knobby knees or hippo hips
or purple polka-dotted lips,
or beaver breath or stinky toes
or horns protruding from my nose,
or-yikes!-with spikes all down my spine,
or hair that's like a porcupine.
I still would be the same, you see...
I like myself because I'm ME!