Mother, Oh Mother

Song for a Fifth Child
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

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 shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, 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 yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

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.

A card arrived this weekend from my mother and this poem was in it. Boy, does my mom understand this poem seeing as she had six children (and did I mention I have the best mother in the world. I truly do). It makes me smile and reminds me that all the work of tending a household will still be there tomorrow but my babies "don't keep."

Mother's Day turned out to be more of a weekend and seemed more special than last. That is probably because I have two children now instead of the one. Doug also did a great job of making me feel special. Friday night we went out to one of my favorite places and I ordered anything I wanted down to my favorite drink. The kids behaved beautifully and we were actually proud of Charlotte for doing so well. Saturday we headed down to Ft. Benning to watch my brother-in-law compete in the Best Ranger Competition and the kids did great then too. Sunday we skipped church. Doug got up with the kids and let me sleep in and he made pancakes. We had a leisurely day and for once both kids took a nap at the same time and slept for the time they were supposed to sleep. This gave me a whole hour and a half to myself which I decided to spend with Doug and smocking.

Lastly, Doug conjured up a great gift. He gave me a scrapbook of my blog. Not only does this mean a lot to me but I know he went through many pains to get it done. When he decided to give this to me he didn't realize he would have to do all the editing himself. Needless to say it took him about a week to complete.

So, now after three days of "celebration," I go back to rocking my children and tending my home and relishing every minute of time I have with my little family.