I'm playing with Joseph, and Joseph won't keep.
Some think we're crazy to have a third child, let alone refuse to draw the line at three (just yet, anyway.) They think parenthood is something to be endured.
Little do they know, parenthood is something to revel in!
Now this hasn't been easy, but I've told myself (please remind me if I ever forget!) never to wish away a single minute of my children's young days. I've tried to soak up every single drop of my children's childhoods, even the bad bits. There have been times when Nat and Anna were little when they have refused to sleep in the middle of the night, crying and screaming, sometimes feeding, sometimes not, and I have collapsed in an exhausted puddle of motherhood on the floor, weeping myself. Even in those times I've tried to soak up the experience, good or bad - because babies don't keep.
And here I go again!
How blessed. Thankyou God.
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I'm thinking about all this today because this made me cry last night. If you're hormonal like me, you might cry too. Join the club.
Song for a Fifth Child
Mother, O 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,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye 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 his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye 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 Hulburt Hamilton (1958)
20 comments:
My goodness, what a huge bottom that is in the first picture. As you can see, I couldn't care less. I'm playing with Joseph, and Joseph won't keep.
Love it! Love the picture of the three of them, especially!
Not that your bottom isn't fantabulous, of course, but you'll have to pardon me for liking the 3 kids' faces more than your admittedly delightful hind end. :)
you are so right here, Kate. Totally hit the nail on the head. The children are all that matter.
Oh and I love the photos!
What a precious post and precious photos. And shame on you for even dissing your beautiful self. I love the photos and I love the poem SO.MUCH!!!
Oh, I had only ever seen the last stanza. Once I cross stitched it for a new mom, before google and internet; it was even attributed to Anonymous. My babies did not keep, but I still pull their big selves on my lap and rock them anyway.
Ok, I'll cry now. Who needs post-partum hormones.
You and Joseph make a sweet picture and the three of them together are are soooo cute.
You are right enjoy, enjoy. We all blink and they are growing and changing so fast. Wise woman who wrote this poem.
♥
Joy
so sweet- I agree. With an 11 & 14 year old those baby moments are gone. I think more about enjoying them before they are out of the house!!
You continue to enjoy that baby and ignore the mess in the house (although that carpet looks pretty dust-free to me!)
That poem is gorgeous... And yes I am hormonal! LOL
I love this post :)
I love this! As I read it I thought of Psalm 30:5, "weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." It is so nice to see your joy returning. Yea for you!
I love the photo you shared! And darling, you look amazing for just giving birth via C-Section!
You are in the right frame of mind as far as I'm concerned....these days will be over in the blink of an eye and believe me, there will still be chores to do after they are grown. So, my advice...enjoy every single, solitary moment now.
Nana Tantrum
PS....when I commented on the photo of your hubby and Joseph, I didn't mean it was risque and I should look away...it was just an intimate photo.
Really touching. And LOVE that pic. How cute are they?
i love the photos! the one of you and Joseph is very sweet!! :) such a cute photo of all three kids! i love the poem too- it's gorgeous! :)
Even the grandchildren(4 of them), who give you a 2nd chance to enjoy 'your' babies, don't stay babies for long.........that is a beautiful picture of Joseph and you, and it was the wonderful expression on your face that i noticed.
Anne.uk.
I had the last paragraph of that poem on a plaque in my son's room when he was a baby - I never knew there was more to the poem! Thank you for posting this and congrats on the new addition! I lose track of you for a while and you go and reproduce! He is adorable.
I totally needed this post. I'm not even a mother, but I've been reading tons of icky mother experiences lately in books, and I have been DREADING it. I too, have only heard the last stanza of that poem, but your words at the beginning of this post were waaaaay better than any poem.
Definitely revel in motherhood! But, I'll admit, there is quite a bit of enduring, too...
My little girl smells like baby powder today, and that's sooooo nice! One of the joys.
I snuck the poem for my blog, I hope you don't mind. I just want it somewhere I won't lose it!
I hope you enjoy every single second of all your babies!
I was just looking at this again and realizing that you must be having a pretty good recovery if you were able to get down into that position and then back up to upload the picture. :-) Yea!
I came across that poem when my oldest was just a babe in arms.
Yes, my house is still shocking.
Worth it. Totally.
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