I keep a copy of “Song for a Fifth Child” saved to my phone for times when I feel overwhelmed by parenthood.

 

Song for a Fifth Child

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 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.

-by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

There’s just something so pardoning about those lines. After all, babies are only babies for a short time and it’s ok if the house gets a little dusty or if I have to resort to paper plates from time to time.

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”– Ferris Bueller

Birthday parties, dance classes, running errands, family vacations, school events… When do we have time to enjoy the memories we work so desperately to create?

My husband likes to refer to the special moments as “marbles”. Every marble is uniquely different, sometimes they can be difficult to hold onto, and eventually as we age, many of us will lose our marbles (pun intended).

So…  How do we hold onto our “marbles”?

In my work as a speech pathologist, I spent a lot of time helping patients retrieve the important “marbles” in their lives. Often a very simple and basic scrapbook would enable a patient to retrieve a long lost story. For some, a simple song sung in younger years would bring back a flood of memories. And still, for others, the smell and or taste of a comfort food would retrieve one of those long lost marbles.

We just need to choose the right marbles. Remember that it’s the simple things that matter. The lullabies, the midnight feedings, and the lazy Saturday mornings; these are the moments that we will miss most. If we spend all our time focusing on the big events,  many of the smaller marbles might fall and roll under the table to be lost forever.

A Few of My Marbles

As a mom, it’s always a daunting task to balance tea parties, breastfeeding, diapers, cooking, housekeeping, and laundry, all while maintaining my sanity.

As an adaptive mom, those everyday tasks can take twice as long, with my endurance sometimes giving out long before the job is complete. Sometimes a chore may be just outside of my ability and I have to ask for help.

I continually adapt my priorities to allow myself to just enjoy the moment…even if that moment is filled with clutter, covered in poop, and hasn’t showered in a week. These are the moments I will cherish.

What moments do you cherish most?

Happy Mother’s Day…and don’t lose your marbles!