I Have Lived Long Enough To Learn A Little

 Oh, the pleasure and pain of being a housewife/homemaker and mother!

Yes, it will rain after we've decided that the rain is over
so we hang out the laundry
because the sun is beaming and the weather said
'clearing in the afternoon'
and then we are just ready to back out the lawn mower 

when we hear a strange sound...sudden downpour!

 So the plans to till the garden or dig potatoes
after lawn-mowing are put on hold as well...😐

I have lived

Long enough to reap

The rewards of selfishness

And unselfishness as well

I have uttered more prayers

And shed more tears

And smiled more smiles

Than a little poem can spell

I have learned

That motherhood

Is good

In spite of bad days

Now and then

And that hard work

As well as laughter

Is good medicine

I have lived

Long enough to see

That we reap

What we sow

That discipline

Or the lack thereof

Will eventually

Definitely show

I have learned that it can rain

While the sun shines

(Or does the sun shine

While it rains?)

That the truth comes out

Sooner or later

Though to hide it

We took great pains

I have learned

That we grow old

Much quicker

Than I thought

That life 

and people 

and plans change

But never God

I have learned

That He is patient

And loving and patient

And merciful

Through and through

And forgiving and patient

And kind and patient,

And therefore we should be too

© Janet Martin

Longing To...

We all reveled in the brief warmth and bit of sun yesterday;

before heavy thunderstorms moved in and temps nose-dived!

On Saturday I saw a few tractors in fields and thought
maybe this is the beginning of the end of the spring that would not be!
but this morning optimism takes another hit while
 we pray that farmers can keep their cool/faith and patience!

 This morning (because its a holiday here) I could

'linger longer at the brook that took so long to sing' (see below)

 last year above...this year below

 Last year above...this year below

 Last year above...this year below

 Last year above...this year below

 last year above...this year below

We are all longing to...

To wade through leas where green grass gleams and ripples in the sun

To be a little more carefree where barefoot children run

To make the most of idle time, sprawled beneath sapphire deep

Or take an afternoon to climb a flower-studded steep

Or linger longer at the brook that took so long to sing

While we were waiting for the melody that we call spring

And shivered in our sugar-coated platitudes and such

Where it seemed somehow summer’s harbinger had lost its touch

© Janet Martin

The 'Wait' Weight

Grand-daughter is already 4 weeks old, 

while a month ago we were anxiously/eagerly waiting to meet her!

(some small endearments...one dimple in her right cheek 

and she only wrinkles the left side of her forehead, 

and she LOVES being rocked!)

Right now, in this province, waiting for spring is everyone's common ground!

On a personal note I'm still waiting for someone to fix our internet issues.

It flicks on for a minute then it's gone and I have to wait for it to reboot

(or whatever it does.)

I have re-discovered a whole new-old way of life this week...

 a paper dictionary,

... a cook-book,

 work-out DVDs,

...no weather-forecast updates

... a telephone! (can sometimes see my e-mails but can't reply!)

...and last but not least, a record-player 

since we have no working cd or cassette player...

(or no music which means listening to my rusty singing voice :-/

‘Wait’ is a weight that can wear patience thin

‘Wait’ means the gate is still barred

‘Wait’ tries the trust we must muster within

‘Wait’ even when it is hard

‘Wait’ wafts in whispers of worlds held at bay

‘Wait’ is the bud full of flow’r

‘Wait’ is a word that teaches us to pray

‘Wait’ is a long-winded hour

‘Wait’ tests the will of the woman, man, child

‘Wait’ is not ‘yes, dear' or ‘nope’

‘Wait’ is an order that can drive us wild

‘Wait’ is the foothold of hope

‘Wait’ is the prelude to ‘if’, ‘then’ and ‘when’

‘Wait’ for the good of the ‘want’

‘Wait’ is the ship that has still not come in

‘Wait’ is an internal taunt

‘Wait’ is the lad wishing to be six

‘Wait’ is the babe before birth

‘Wait’ is a sleeve full of endless tricks

‘Wait’ is the way of this earth

© Janet Martin

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage,
and he shall strengthen thine heart:
wait, I say, on the LORD.
Psalm 27:14

Winter's Recompense

This poem eked/leaked out amidst many household chores yesterday...

I'd love to finesse it a little but am on the verge of LOTS of kiddos today,

 due to March-break and 'we-miss-Janet's-house'

 (hopefully there will be fresh cinnamon buns for morning snacks)

Beneath a lofty latticework of woodland’s red-bejeweled limbs

Where nature’s violinist moves a breathy bow across primed strings

And where the air runs rife with life in harmonies we simply sense

I’ll take a chair and watch the unfolding of winter’s recompense

Where we must wait for rusty gates to groan beneath the weighted tress

Of vines that spill their bud to blooms that fill our cups of happiness

Where winter’s chill revives a thirst for summer’s sea-song serenade

And bare feet dancing to a tune immersed in knee-deep pools of shade

Where gardens grin with half-grown dreams and sparkling streams lure fishermen

Where afternoon bursts at the seams; its fabric blue and green again

Where all the world seems sweet and kind after winter has lost its grip

And left its grit and gale behind where nature’s eaves with blossoms drip

Where we will climb the highest hill to almost touch the lowest cloud

Where time unfurls the daffodil like school-girls standing glad and proud

Where we greet morning with a bounce and sport a smile upon the face

I’ll take a chair, and watch the woodland lose itself in leaf-green lace

© Janet Martin

A glimpse at what is waiting if we just hang in there!