I'm Rocking my Baby!

My emotions have been rather tender and close to the surface lately. Part of that has to do with being released from my calling as Young Women's Secretary. I know I am going to miss my girls so much. They have been such a great example of strength to me and I have loved every minute I have been able to spend with them! I really think the other part comes from daily reminders that Tori is growing up. As I watch her learn and discover, I am so glad that I get to be here to share those things with her. Today I ran across a poem I am sure most of you have heard before and it struck a cord in me.

Mother, oh 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,
Lullaby, rockabye, lullaby, loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due,
Lullaby, rockabye, lullaby, loo.
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,
Lullaby, rockabye, lullaby, 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 Hulbert Hamilton

I think that as women we tend to feel like we aren't 'enough' or doing 'enough.' No matter how much we get done, we tend to focus on all that we didn't get to. I think this poem was what I needed to see today. Dishes, laundry, and cleaning will always be there, but my baby is growing up. And that is exactly what I don't want to miss!