I received this poem for Mother’s Day along with a picture from my daughter and wanted to share it with all the mothers out there whose houses so often, like mine, are strewn with toys and not as clean as we would want them to be.
Some houses try to hide the fact
That children shelter there.
Ours boasts of it quite openly,
The signs are everywhere.
For smears are on the windows,
Little smudges on the door.
I should apologize I guess,
For toys strewn on the floor.
But I sat down with the children
And we laughed and played and read.
And if the doorbell doesn’t shine
Their eyes will shine instead.
For when at times I’m forced to choose
The one job or the other.
I want to be a housewife,
But first I’ll be a mother.
—Author Unknown
After all being a mother is the most important thing that we can be doing. We can have a clean house when our kids are all grown and gone. My mother often comments that she enjoys it when the grandkids come because there are toys strewn around. The house feels full of life. When it’s just her and my dad the house is clean, but feels empty. Yet when we were young she often stressed about having a clean house and found it impossible with four young children. Now she realizes how unimportant a really clean house was.
I’m not saying that doing the laundry and dishes, vacuuming and sweeping the floor, and picking up the toys aren’t important, because they are; just not as important as spending time with our children. If you have to choose between one and the other, choose your children. Or better yet get your kids to help you then you can all do something fun together. My kids although all under age 6 help me fold laundry, clear off the table, and clean up toys. They are learning and helping me at the same time.