Not long after I gave birth to Hannah, I was telling my mom how it was so hard to get anything done. In response, she recited to me the last stanza of the below poem.
Babies Don't Keep
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton, 1958
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, rock-a-bye, Lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due,
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek-peek-a-boo).
The shopping is not done and there's nothing for stew,
And out in the yard there is a hullabaloo.
But I'm playing "Kanga" and this is my "Roo."
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rock-a-bye, 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.
Since then, I have tried to remember the simple message of this poem, especially when I am feeling overwhelmed with all of the responsibilities that young mothers have. Already, my baby is growing up. I hope that I can remember to "choose the better part" like Mary, not Martha. I want to cherish this wonderful time in my life. I am so grateful for Hannah, and that she made me a mother.
Brand new...only a few days after she was born.
Mother's Day 2007 (My first!) - Hannah wasn't even three months old!
Mother's day - May 11, 2008
