Something to live by

Lately at night, Cecelia has been having trouble staying asleep and Jeff or I have to go in multiple times to soothe her back to sleep.  Sometimes we just have to pat her belly other times we have to rock her.  I catch myself getting frustrated that she wants to be held and I have plenty of things to do around the house. I stumbled across the poem that another blogger had on her blog The Littlest Nunley.  I fully intend to print out this poem, frame it and hang it by her rocking chair in her room; just so I can remind myself to cherish these little moments.

Babies Don’t Keep
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

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.

I've never heard anything more true