Excuse this Home

Some homes try to hide the fact

That children shelter there.

Ours boasts of it quite openly,

The signs are everywhere.

For smears are on the windows,

Little smudges on the door;

I should apologize I guess,

For the toys strewn on the floor.

But I sat down with the children:

We played and laughed and read.

And if the doorbell doesn’t shine,

their eyes will shine instead.

For when at times I’m forced to choose

The one job or the other,

I want to be a homemaker

But first I’ll be a mother.

--author unknown