Monday, January 30, 2006

My Justification

I've always said I'm lacking that domestic gene, but lately I've felt the pressure to be more...I don't know..."motherly," I guess, for obvious reasons. And by "be motherly" I mean "be more of what I've always thought a mother should be," which is a) neat and tidy, b) a good cook (or at least someone who cooks at all), c) organized. Otherwise saying, I've been feeling like I should be MY mother. :) And that's not a knock in any way on her--I've been blessed with the most absolutely incredible mother on the planet, and she was a tremendous role model for me, but bottom line is I just don't have it in me. And that makes me sad sometimes, because I'm afraid Abby will grow up and have no clue how to take care of a house and it'll be my fault.

But then I found this poem today and it made me not care so much. :)


"Mother oh Mother, come shake out your cloth
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread
Sew on a button and make up a bed.

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
(Lullaby, rockabye, lullaby 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 hard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow
For 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."

Now granted I was like this before I became a mother, but still, at least now I can stop stressing about it so much. :)

1 comment:

Rebecca said...

I love this poem....mind if I put it on my blog as well?

I think it is wonderful to take time to enjoy the children/family/friends. My mom was a "clean-aholic" as I was growing up and I feel like she missed out on those days at the park or playing in the backyard. I don't want to miss out on that stuff with our baby girl!