Dust Go To Sleep

Song For a Fith Child, by Ruth Hamilton. 1958

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth
empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
hang out the washing and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby 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 her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for 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.

Found posted at Harry & Rosie

Our household lives by this poem - so if you see the dishes in our sink, or the muddy paw prints by the back door, the dog nose prints on the glass and the toys strewn about....

Loving This: How to Build Community

Print Available From Blue Barn Press

"HOW TO BUILD COMMUNITY- turn off your tv, leave your house, know your neighbors, look up when you are walking, greet people, sit on your stoop, plant flowers, use your library, play together, buy from local merchants, share what you have, help a dog, take children to the park, garden together, support neighborhood schools, fix it even if you didn't break it, have pot lucks, honor elders, pick up litter, read stories loud, dance in the street, talk to the mail carrier, listen to the birds, put up a swing, help carry something heavy, barter for your goods, start a tradition, ask a question, hire young people for odd jobs, organize a block party, bake extra and share, ask for help when you need it, open your shades, sing together, share your skills, take back the night, turn up the music, turn down the music, listen before you react to anger, mediate a conflict, seek to understand, learn from new and uncomfortable angles, know that no one is silent though many are not heard - work to change this"

Quote to Ponder

“...Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person...If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously."

~ Luke 2: 27-30

Quote to Ponder

"Life is too short to spend your precious time trying to convince a person who wants to live in gloom and doom otherwise. Give lifting that person your best shot, but don't hang around long enough for his or her bad attitude to pull you down. Instead, surround yourself with optimistic people."

-- Zig Ziglar

Muddy Road

Our yoga instructor read us an old Buddhist parable that illustrates the challenge--and the value--of letting go of the past last night before we started our class last night. Was something I really needed to hear. Funny how you hear stories like this right when you need to.

-------------------------------------------------------

Two monks were walking along a muddy road after a rainstorm when they came across a beautiful young woman. She was wearing an exquisite kimono and was looking very concerned at the prospect of crossing the muddy road. The older monk immediately whisked her up into his arms, carried her across the road, and set her on the dry bank opposite. The young woman smiled her gratitude, and the monks went on their way. After several miles of walking, the younger monk could restrain himself no longer.

“We monks have taken vows. We are not even supposed to touch women, especially not young and beautiful ones. Why did you pick up that woman back there?”

“Have you been carrying her all this time?” asked the older monk. “I put her down many miles ago.”

All Life is An Experiment

Do not be timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. What if they are a little coarse, and you may get your coat soiled and torn? What if you do fail, and get fairly rolled in the dirt once or twice? Up again; you shall never be so afraid of a tumble.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson