by Liberty Henwick

Today I’m as tired, as tired as can be,
From lying awake ’til a quarter to three.
Thinking about all the things left undone
How dusting and vacuuming sucks all my fun.

Next I lay pondering parenting fears.
I’m a mother of four with guilt in arrears.
I wonder if doing my best is enough
When outside’s a world where the going is tough.

A day lies ahead with a multitude piling
Of menial jobs that leave me unsmiling.
I’m overwhelmed now by the tasks in my head
Especially as I can’t even get out of bed.

I want to remember the reasons I’m here,
To fix my gaze forward, to spread some good cheer.

But first I sip slowly on my lovely hot brew
And choose not to think of the ‘things I must do.’
I silently give thanks for the joys in my life,
Like children and warm beds and that I’m a wife.

I know he’s not perfect but then neither am I
So I thank him, hug him and dab my tears dry
I think of my children—it’s them that I’m seeing,
Today is not all about doing, but being.

Today I acknowledge the things that I do
Are not what define me, but lend meaning to
My whole life ahead and that which has past.
These small acts of loving become something so vast.

I will tackle my tasks one after the other
Framed within context of wife and of mother
Of daughter and sister, aunty and friend
And of Him who gives purpose until my life’s end.

I will not get all worried over stuff in their piles
I will try and relish the moments and smiles
It’s not what I do, it’s the worth that I hold
Which in each individual is more precious than gold.

I want to remember the reasons I’m here
To fix my gaze forward, to spread some good cheer
To focus my thoughts on the hope that is certain
Of future delights beyond the great curtain.

Liberty Henwick is a South African mother of four living in Ireland. She is a graphic designer, but has loved writing and the beauty of words since she wrote her first poem at age nine. Now she writes a blog at libertyonthelighterside.com, where she speaks candidly about being a woman in her forties, as well as her loves, which include her family, faith, creativity, and travel.