I came across this poem today and it really spoke to me. There have been many times where I wish Leo would just fall asleep without my rocking or nap a little longer so I could finish the dishes/laundry/dinner. But then I think about the fact that he will only be a baby for such a short time and there will come a day that my arms will ache to hold him and rock him. In motherhood, the days are long but the years are short. My time with him is so precious.
Song for a Fifth Child
Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.
The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.
-Ruth Hulburt Hamilton, Ladies Home Journal 1958
So, so true. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete