Memo to self

Your children
are not your children
They are the sons and daughters
of Life's longing for itself
They come through you but not from you
And though they are with you
Yet they belong not to you
You may give them your love but not your thoughts
for they have their own thoughts
You may house their bodies but not their souls
for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow
which you cannot visit even in your dreams
You may strive to be like them
but seek not to make them like you
for life goes not backward
nor tarries with yesterday
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth

Khalil Gibran