when the kids are grown,
life will be different.
The memo pad on
my refrigerator door will read,
"Afternoon at hairdresser,"or,
"Browse through art gallery,"or,
"Start golf lessons," instead of,
"Pediatrician at 2:00," or,
"Cub Pack Meeting."
SOMEDAY,
when the kids are grown,
the house will be free of graffiti.
There will be no crayoned smiley
faces on the walls, no names scrawled
in furniture dust, no pictures fingered
on steamy windows, and no initials
etched in bars of soap.
SOMEDAY,
when the kids are grown,
I'll get through a whole chapter of an
engrossing book without being interrupted
to sew a nose on a teddy bear,
stop a toddler from eating the dog food,
or rescue the cat from the toy box.
SOMEDAY,
when the kids are grown,
I won't find brown apple cores under
the beds, empty spindles on the toilet
paper hanger, or fuzzy caterpillars
in denim jeans. And I will be able to find
a pencil in the desk drawer, a slice
of leftover pie in the refrigerator,
and the comics still in the
center of the newspaper.
SOMEDAY,
when the kids are grown,
I'll breeze right past the gumball
machine in the supermarket
without having to fumble for pennies;
I'll stroll freely down each aisle
without fear of inadvertently
passing the candy or toy sections;
and I'll choose cereal without
considering what noise it makes,
what prize it contains, or what
color it comes in.
SOMEDAY,
when the kids are grown,
I'll prepare Quiche Loraine, or
Scallops Amandine, or just plain
liver and onions, and no one will say,
"Yuk! I wish we were having hot dogs!"
or, "Jimmy's lucky, his mom lets him
eat chocolate bars for dinner."
And we'll eat by candle light,
with no one trying to roast
their peas and carrots over the flame
to "make them taste better,"
or arguing about who gets to blow
out the candle when we're done.
SOMEDAY.
when the kids are grown,
I'll get ready for my bath without
first having to remove a fleet
of boats, two rubber alligators,
and a soggy tennis ball from the tub.
I'll luxuriate in hot, steamy water and
billows of bubbles for a whole hour,
and no fists will pound on the door,
no small voices will yell,
"Hurry up, Mommy! I gotta go!"
YES
when the kids are grown,
life will be different.
They'll leave our nest,
and the house will be
Quiet....
and calm....
and empty....
and lonely....
And I won't like that at all!
And then I'll spend my time,
not looking forward to
