Dominic did a handprint Art & Craft activity in school for Mother's Day this year (2004) and came back with a card with his handprint and a poem behind.  I posted it on my Live Journal and a friend of mine saw the post, was so touched by the poem and went to find a whole series of handprint poems.  All the mommies who read them could not help shedding some tears when they read them.  I still do now.
 
Hence, I have decided to share all the handprints poems here.  They are a good reminder that our little ones grow up so fast. 

A Child's Hand
The promise of tomorrow
And the hope of dreams come true,
A reminder of the childhood
That is still a part of you.

The wonder of a miracle
From which this love began
There is so much found
In the touch of a child's hand
 
Handprints on the Wall
One day as I was picking
the toys up off the floor,
I noticed a small hand print
on the wall beside the floor.

I knew that it was something
that I'd seen most every day,
but this time when I saw it there
I wanted to stay.

Then tears welled up inside my eyes,
I knew it wouldn't last
for every mother knows,
her children grow up way too fast.

Just then I put my chores aside
and held my children tight.
I sang to them sweet lullabies
and rocked into the night.

Sometimes we take for granted
all those things that seem so small.
Like one of God's great treasures.....
a small handprint on the wall.

Tiny Handprints
Tiny handprints grow so fast
Their awkward groping soon will clasp
A ball, a book, a sweetheart's hand,
A diploma, briefcase, wedding band.

Tiny handprints grow so strong
It doesn't take them very long
To snap a shirt, to paint, to draw,
To labor hard, to drive a car.

Tiny handprints grow to be
A person that is quite unique
A wonderful mix of so many things
With his own feelings, thoughts and dreams.

Tiny handprints grow to rely
On his parents to bring him up just right
His parents pray that when he's grown
He'll say their job has been well done.

Tiny handprints are ours to love
The sweetest gift from God above
A miracle that never is surpassed
How sad they grow up way too fast.

My Handprints
My little hands play pat-a-cake
They play peek-a-boo and wave...
They catch me while I learn to walk
And splash me as I bathe.

My little hands reach up to you,
For hugs before I sleep...
And fold together when I pray
The Lord my soul to keep.

My little hands are tiny now
But yours will serve to guide me...
And when I'm grown I'll still reach out
And know you're right beside me.

 
And the one that Dominic brought home and started it all:

Sometimes you get discouraged
Because I am so small,
I always leave my fingerprints
On furniture and walls.

But everyday I'm growing
And I'll be grown some day,
Then all those tiny handprints
Will surely fade away.

So here's a little handprint
Just so you can recall,
Exactly how my fingers looked
When I was very small.

(All Authors Unknown)

Things to do

Go on.  Give your little ones all the hugs and kisses you can give.  Cherish them and love them.  Take a good look at them, at their little hands and their little feet.  Make clay figures of their hands and feet or simply print them on paper to help you remember how small they are now, the tiny hands that hold your big ones in complete trust.