Sep 3, 2005

Ode to the First Day of School...

After spending the last 2 1/2 months entertaining my kids (and a few extra ones - which usually felt almost the same as a prision riot) and trying to work from the house, I will be able to reclaim my working life on Wednesday of this week. My youngest starts first grade this year so I get SILENCE from 8:50 to 3:50 every day! I can't wait!!!

I think every mother can relate to one of my favorite poems. It's by Marjorie Lee and from a book called "What Have You Done All Day?".

JUST LUCKY, I GUESS
__________
We've a backyard with a sandbox,
and a newly fixtured cellar,
And a patio and pool deck
Fit for any Rockefeller;
So they've space their drums to beat on
And their little bells to chime in-
But they're bound to choose the area
That I'm in.
__________________
When I sit with classic novel
Set for cultural battalions,
All its characters start moving
To the lope of western stallions;
Lined before the television
There's a sofa, stool and high chair -
But of course it's still essential
To use my chair.
___________________
My boys are independent
And my girls are quite resourceful,
Or so hired victims tell me
When I've warned them to be forceful;
Says the sitter, "They were angels,
And we've had a quiet time home."
What, I ask, brings forth the massacre
When I'm home?
_________________
Raise a cheer for modern mothers
Who can plan their hours of leisure
In a cell of self-seclusion,
Rapt with solitary pleasure -
But with me it could be Shanghai,
Or a coastline Bali Balian,
A castle walled in marble
Of dimensions Taj Mahalian;
A stadium by Lewissohn
For record-breaking quotas,
Or two ranches where the cattle graze
In both of the Dakotas,
Or three mansions flanked by meadows
Borrowed from the King of Siam -
They would still elect to congregate
Where I am.
___________________
Here's to the first day of school and being home all alone...
Thank you, Teachers!!!!

2 comments:

Kim said...

Ever taken your kids to work with you? Ever tried to make a phone call or write an intelligent email when you have two children standing in your office arguing over a super soaker?

I enjoy spending time with my kids as EVERY MOTHER DOES, but I am also running an international business from my home. My kids got the summer off, I didn't...

Anonymous said...

Yep, yep, and yep. I've done all those things with my kids. I also run a home-based business, plus do conventions across the country and homeschool.
My kids aren't perfect and neither am I. We have days when everything seems out of control. It's then that I have to remind myself that my kids are my first priority, not my job.