Nurturer of Spirits

by Cheryl Merrick

With inspiring thoughts
and encouraging words
I nourish spirits.

Careers

by Cheryl Merrick

A  little unconventional
but tailored to my talents and needs
I’ve had my careers

My life has been filled
with teaching experiences,
I began teaching as a child
when I gathered neighbor children
to “play school”,
At ten I taught five-year-olds
in Sunday School,
In high school I took children with hearing problems on field trips,
In college I student taught in
a 2nd and 4th grade classroom for five months.

Camp

by Cheryl Merrick

The scout’s mother anxiously watches her son leave,
“I hope he comes home safely.”
A week later, the scout returns.
His eyes sparkle as he gives an enthusiastic account,
in Technicolor detail,
of his brushes with danger,
The sharp rock that cut his foot,
“Where were his shoes!”
The burning branch in his hair,
“What was his head doing in the fire?”

A New Family is Born

by Cheryl Merrick

Mother soft with love

Father proudly protective

Baby cuddly and helpless

United in nurturing

A new family is born

Another Child

by Cheryl Anne Merrick

Dreamily the young bride
eagerly looks forward
to having their first baby.

Her thoughts filled with pink booties,
and scented with baby lotion,
she eagerly anticipates 
months filled with
cheerfully decorating the baby’s room
and preparing for their
little bundle of joy.

Mantle of Motherhood

by Cheryl Merrick


It begins with nausea and tiredness
  which turn into smiles as small kicks assure 
  of a healthy baby growing within.
Having passed through the birth ordeal,
you feel a new depth of joy as you
hold your child tenderly in your arms

Midst of Mothering

by Cheryl Merrick


Ever busy
Days crowded with spilt milk and lost shoes,
baseball games and dance lessons.
Evenings spent helping with homework at the kitchen table
and enjoying seeing your child in a school program.
Someone always needing your help--
Ever counseling, guiding, and teaching.

Mothering

by Cheryl Merrick


Knowing that mothering
is more than just giving birth,
but an expression of the heart,
She reaches out
to teach youth at school
and in the Church
to invite neighborhood children
to share her cookie jar and talk,
to guide young student teachers,
and to nurture her sister’s children
during the summers;
Til one day she is called to the General Young Women’s Presidency,
and proudly declares,
“My daughters!”





My memories of Sister Ardeth Kapp who was never able to bear or adopt children of her own. She was my student teaching supervisor in 1971 in Bountiful Utah. Later she became the 9th General President of the Young Women organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

Always a Mother

by Cheryl Merrick


They’re on their own.
You cheer them on as they manage their own lives-
getting an education, choosing a mate, 
making a living, and raising a family.
You share in their triumphs and sorrows.