For now they are within arms reach
Contained in car seats and little chairs
Contained in bubbled baths splashing about..
Within arms reach the both of them
Most of my days I am near
And so are they…. for now…
Sometimes forgetting who I am…where I start and they begin
They are always in my arms
One or the other…I tend to their needs
Sometimes forgetting what mine are.. what HIS are???
My lovely man that spends the day
Working hard for us and pay…
For now this is the dance…
For now little arms reach up for us
Little voices calling….”mamma..daddy”
Those names can now their problems solve
Those names their little world revolves
Around and around each day
But each day they learn to step out
Further- further from our arms …
For now they sleep in rooms next door
With blankies tight in pale moon light
Illuminating baby skin.. deceivingly look like cherubim
For now storms chase them to our bed
All nuzzled close in blankets white…our nearness
Makes all things right ….for now
For now laundry piles high each day
dishes fill the kitchen sink and call my name
taking me away from play
Within arms reach I see them learn and laugh and cry
I feel the tears that fall
I can wipe them from their eyes and kiss them all away
For now i chose their meals and clothes, I chose the whereabouts each day
Where they will go and where they will play
For now my choices are just fine…
In their little worlds and minds
But some days that is not true
They fight me hard within arms reach..
They fight to become independent from me..
Refusing a spoon and so “yogurt –faced” mad
They hurl tantrums at me and act all sorts of bad
With all of their might within arms reach
For now the house seems always a mess
There never is a beginning or end
To the constant pile of things to tend
I hush away the little voice that yells
"I WANT TIME FOR MYSELF!!!"
Seems no time outside the tending sheep..
I alongside the Great Shepherd keep
these little precious ones
For Now……
2 comments:
Thank you so much for this, Mandy.
I get it - every line. Feel every bit of the tension and the joy and the fleeting-ness of it all. This is beautiful, and if the tears streaming down are any indication, I needed to hear it exactly now. xoxo
You are an amazing writer. Everything you wrote is so true and you wrote it so well. I see you young moms giving so much of yourselves and I want to cheer you all on. It is so worth it. Like my pastor once said--parents start out giving 100% of themselves to their completely dependent infants but little by little, things begin to change. Before you know it, they are giving back so much more then you are giving to them. I remember it in my life long ago and now I see it with my daughters and daughter-in-law! Giving. Giving. Giving. Such a valuable, important, critical, vital investment of your time, love and selves. Reading your poem also brought tears to my eyes. It is so very sweet to see a young mom who, as your friend Amanda wrote, "gets it"! One day your little boys will grow up and call you blessed! More importantly, so does the Savior who loves you so well.
Post a Comment