Thursday, August 27, 2009

The corners of my mind....

....seem to be filled with too many thoughts lately. Focusing on any one thing is so hard to do. What especially grieves me is my "to do" list because so much has to be put off and I am not, by Nature, a procrastinator. I was raised to do things when they needed getting done. Now I look at my tangled flowerbeds, the front and back porches which need painting, house trim that's dingy and in need of touch-ups. The windows are streaked on the outside...when was the last time I washed those?! The basement is getting filled up to overflowing with all the cast off junk I no longer need, as well as stuff that belongs to the rest of the family that has nowhere else to be stored. I could make a killing on a yard sale, if only the packrats in the family could let go of things. There are hunting clothes enough to dress 10 people, let alone Dear Hubby, and boxes and boxes of books I'm sure are the delight of silver fish. Stacks of stuff here, stacks of stuff there. Clutter drives me absolutely bonkers!

And yet, what would I rather be doing than what I'm doing now, helping in raising my two grandsons? So what if things have to lie low for a few years? It'll all be there waiting for me when my tenure as care taker is over. The hours spent wandering around this city with the two boys, little boys who are enthralled with everything they see, truly are limited when I get down to it. The days of ferocious temper tantrums like I experienced yesterday - Cooper screamed for 1 1/2 hours straight, to the point where he was so worked up nothing would appease him - will soon be nothing but a memory. Hearing "Mommy" and "Mama" all day long will be distant echoes.

So, my version of this beloved poem.....

I hope that my (grand)child(ren), looking back on today
Will remember a (grand)mother who had time to play;
Because children grow up while you're not looking,
There are years ahead for cleaning and cooking.
So, quiet now cobwebs, dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my (grand)baby, and babies don't keep.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

thankyou.... thats just what I needed to hear today, if its o.k I'll copy and paste the poem so I can read it again and again.

Sandy aka Doris the Great said...

I'm experiencing the same overload of "stuff to do". Relax! Take time with the grandkids; they won't remember crying to 1.5 hrs but they'll remember a fun loving grandma. Peace and relaxation be yours today!

Melissa B. said...

I really believe that you need to do what you want to do. Will the basement thank you for hosting a yard sale? Will the windows hug you because you rid them of their smudges? Will the house love you for touching up the trim? I think not...

Betty W said...

You are so right! Even though it must be hard to see all the clutter just building up, it will be there, waiting for you, once you have time.
And the boys will thank you for it later, I´m sure of it!
Hope you get a good rest on the weekend!

Wander to the Wayside said...

I was caregive of my first grandson for his first three years, and then the two of them for another year until my daughter quit work to be home with them ... so I know your pain and your joy! I see my boys almost every day because they live four minutes away, and the both spend several nights a week here alone or together. I would not trade those early years or now (they're 3 and 6) for anything ... clutter and tantrums and all!

Suburbia said...

Lovely poem, and very poignant for me today. Thanks for sharing.