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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Complete



We wash the dishes, polish sinks
Making living-quarters neat
We add the touch of blooms and such
But still, something is not complete

We do the laundry, fill the fridge
With healthy and good things to eat
And yet we sense a keen absence
Of something just not quite complete

We scrub the floors and fuss about
The mess left by way-faring feet
And almost there, we touch the air
Of something keen and incomplete

The front-door slams, someone calls ‘Mom’?
Ah yes, they say silence is sweet
I like the noise of girls and boys
Shaping what makes a home complete

Thank-you Lord, the daily war
Of cleaning-cooking-cares repeat
Yet, in the end they bind and blend
The joys that make a home complete


© Janet Martin

Last night at supper I tried recording the family in ‘lively conversation’ to put it mildly. I sort of missed the moment but it struck me how the completeness of living is not in its tidiness or quietness but in its noise and messes. I like being the listener to their debates/arguments; usually Matt versus sisters, something like-Why People Who Belch are Happier Than Those Who Don’t, etc…
Matt Versus Sisters (of course, at fifteen he enjoys few things more than driving his sisters CRAZY!)



Often, if hubby calls during the day and asks what I’m doing my answer will be something like, ‘oh, laundry, or cleaning or dishes’. ‘Again?’ he asks, ‘Is that all you do?’ No it’s not, but I do it a lot!

2 comments:

  1. Love this whole post. Yes, boys live for driving their sisters batty for a while. Now at 20+, they still put there heads together and talk and tease... and I love it. I need to learn to embrace laundry in this way, but I honestly love that my two oldest no longer do laundry at home... It helps out a lot.

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  2. It's so great to see a different kind of bond develo as they get older isn't it? Every stage truly has its gold. I love that your sons still delight in heckling their sisters.

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I hope you enjoyed your pause on this porch and thank-you for your visit!