Babies Don't Keep

Song for a Fifth Child
by Ruth Hulbert 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.
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I have fond memories of my Mom quoting the last two lines of this poem to many young mothers as I was growing up. Thus I was hardly surprised when she quoted them to me just a few weeks ago.

Except for 1 room, I have conquered the battle of "How did it get this bad?!?!" I'm not saying my house is spotless. It's just not actually embarrassing any more. I am still debating how clean I should work to keep it continually. While the above poem is true--my girls will he little for only a short time--it is also true that I can't enjoy them if CPS takes them away because of our atrocious living conditions. (This was never a concern in reality.)

Obviously, I need to wash dishes and laundry, put away both when they're clean, cook wholesome meals (which necessitates grocery shopping), clean the bathrooms occassionally, and at least contemplate vacuuming/mopping. So where do the important things end, and the inconsequential begin? What things, if left undone, should embarrass me? What things do I just need to stop apologizing for?