- THE MOM BEFORE CHRISTMAS -

twas the night before christmas,
when all thru the abode,
only one was stirring,
& she was cleaning the commode...
`

the children were sleeping,
all snug in their beds,
while visions of nintendo & barbie,
flipped through their heads...
`

the dad was snoring,
in front of the tv,
with a half finished bike,
propped on his knee...

`
so only the mom heard,
the reindeer hooves clatter,
which made her sigh,
'now what's the matter?'...

`
with toilet bowl brush,
still clutched in her hand,
she descended the stairs,
& saw the old man...

`
he was covered with soot,
which fell when he shrugged,
"oh great", muttered the mom,
"now i've to clean the rug"...

`
''ho ho ho!", cried santa,
"i'm glad you're awake,
your gift was especially,
difficult to make"...

`
thanks santa, but all i want,
is some time alone,
"exactly!", he chuckled,
"so, i've made you a clone",

`
"a clone?", she muttered,
"what good is that,
run along, santa,
i've no time to chat"...

`
then out walked the clone,
her identical twin,
the same hair, the same eyes,
tha same double chin...

`
"she'll cook, she'll dust,
she'll mop every mess,
you'll relax, take it easy,
& she'll do the rest"...

`
"fantastic!", the mom cheered,
"my dream's come true!,
i'll shop, i'll read,
i'll sleep a night through!"

`
from the room above,
the youngest did fret,
"mommy! come quickly,
i'm scared & i'm wet"...

`
the clone replied,
"i'm coming sweetheart,
"hey", the mom smiled,
"she sure knows her part"...

`
the clone changed the small one,
& hummed her a tune,
as she bundled the child,
in a blanket cocoon...

`
"you're the best mommy ever,
i really love you"
the clone smiled & sighed,
"& i love you, too"...

`
the mom frowned & said,
"sorry santa, there's no deal,
that's MY child's love,
she's trying to steal"...

`
smiling wisely santa said,
"to me it's clear,
only one loving mother
is really needed here...

`
the mom kissed her child,
& tucked her in bed,
"thank you santa,
for clearing my head...

`
i sometimes forget,
it won't be very long,
when they'll be too old
for my cradle & song"...

`
the clock on the mantle,
began to chime,
santa whispered to the clone,
"it works every time"...

`
with the clone by his side,
santa said, "goodnight,
merry christmas, dear mom,
you're doing all right"...

`

i just read this on my best friends blog & it really touched me (alright, brought tears even!) - i'm a mother of 5 (wow, that sounds so neat as i've ALWAYS wanted a big family) & 3 of those are small (5, 4 & 3) - i'm exhausted EVERY night when i go to bed (or should i say every morning as i never... literally never... get to bed before 2am) - then i wake at 6am to get the first one (ruby) off to school (visiting with brittan all the while, before she goes off to school), then it's the next ones turn (kiara) at 7am to get her off to school, then it's the next ones turn (karleigh) at 8am to get her off to school - we then start the routine backwards as i travel around picking everyone up (side note: anytime anyone needs a ride from one side of town to the other, let me know as i can transport you with no problem at all for free, as i travel this route many times a day) - i rarely ever get to sleep from 2am - 6am without an interruption - it's either someone's wet & their sheets need changing, someone needs to pee (so as to NOT get wet) or ruby's standard 'visit' where she calls me VERY loudly for me to run wildly through the house (yep, it's a sight) for her to finally get to her - i'll sign, "what" & she's sign, "i love you... i need a hug... i'm going to sleep" - it drives me crazy as i'd love to sleep my short 4 hours uninterrupted, but.............. then i read things like what's written above & know that one of these days she'll not need a hug in the night or feel the urge to share with me yet 1 more time that it's 4am & she's going to sleep - it's at that time i think, "lori, what's a few more years of interrupted sleep for those 'visits in the night' that'll one day mean more than i can say - i look at it this way, we're just making memories!!