You know the sad fact in life is that There will always be too much to do.
Last year I was frantic because my to-do list was growing faster than I could complete items on it. I was literally afraid to put down things I really wanted to do simply because I was terrified of making my list even longer. It was all getting to be too much.
I then found myself saying things like "I'll get to it when the kids are at school" or "When the kids are on holidays and I don't have to do the school run I'll have more time"; then things started getting pushed back to "It can wait until next year - I'll be able to do more then".
And then it hit me - I am never going to finish everything on my to-do list! Simple as that. So what did I do - I took a few items off the list and made a commitment to myself not to do them. I realised that I needed to concentrate on what was do-able and leave those that were not. So maybe I'll never complete that hand knitted item in the back of the cupboard I started four years ago; so what and perhaps the windows can need washing for a bit longer. My list is lighter and so are my shoulders; the light at the end of the tunnel isn't the express train after all.
Mother, O 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 the bed
.........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, 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.)
Oh, cleaning and scrubbing will 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. Babies don't keep.
~~~~Ruth Hulburt Hamilton
Mother, O 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 the bed
.........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, 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.)
Oh, cleaning and scrubbing will 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. Babies don't keep.
~~~~Ruth Hulburt Hamilton
1 comment:
Perfect Jane! I love it.
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