Babies don't last but dishes...and laundry do

I loved having little ones around the house. I loved getting on my hands and knees and playing games with them. I loved when they played outside and came in covered in dirt. (I always believe a dirty child just means they've had some great fun) I loved singing silly songs with them wherever we were...in the supermarket....in the car....walking down the street.

What I didn't enjoy was doing housework. Trying to keep up with laundry, clean walls and windows or even with what is in the back of the fridge. Never was any good at it.

I remembered a saying that was on the wall of our house while I was growing up and it fit perfectly. "My house is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy". It is what I lived by. If anyone came over to see my house they would be sorely disappointed but if they came to visit me then they'd leave feeling loved and lighter, having laughed much.

This brings me to one of my favourite poems. It is by Ruth Hamilton and I have loved it since I was young. The title suggests it's for a mother with a good number of children but I think a mother with even one child can appreciate the sentiments.

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.

Dust if you must...

I just received a fun email from a friend. It reminds me of a couple of my favourite sayings in regards to housework:

"My house is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy"

"If you must write in the dust, please don't date it"

"I don't clean the windows because it blocks out the UV rays keeping us safe inside."

So here's the email. I'd love to hear some of your sayings about housework...or 'avoiding it' more to the point.

LADIES!!! Remember...a layer of dust protects the Wood beneath it.

'A house becomes a home when you can write 'I love you' on the furniture.'

I used to spend at least 8 hours every weekend making sure things were just perfect - 'in case someone came over'. Finally I realized one day that no-one came over; they were all out living life and having fun!
NOW, when people visit, I don't have to explain the 'condition' of my home.
They are more interested in hearing about the things I've been doing while I was away living life and having fun.
If you haven't figured this out yet, please heed this advice.

Life is short. Enjoy it!
Dust if you must ........
but wouldn't it be better to paint a picture or write a letter, bake cookies or a cake and lick the spoon or plant a seed, ponder the difference between want and need?
Dust if you must, but there's not much time . . . ...
with rivers to swim and mountains to climb , music to hear and books to read, friends to cherish and life to lead.

Dust if you must,
but the world's out there with the sun in your eyes, the wind in your hair, a flutter of snow, a shower of rain. This day will not come around, again.

Dust if you must , but bear in mind, old age will come and it's not kind. .... .