I love to read and get creative. I remember the days before my daughter arrived when I would read 6 books in the space of two weeks, and now I would struggle to read 2 books in a whole year.
In the days of technology and mobile phones, you can more often than not find me catching up on facebook when in the bath and in the last few minutes before sleep than picking up some good old fashioned chick lit! And yes that’s my style, fun, emotive books that make me smile, or cry, or on occasions laugh out loud. I’ve never been into horror, or crime thrillers, I want an escape that won’t give me nightmares.
When I was younger, I used to do a lot of creative writing. Short stories for local publications and magazines, and poems, I was always writing poems! Nowadays that creativity is poured into other avenues and I rarely put pen to paper.
However recently, on a typical night, where Sienna had me up in the middle of the night for a cuddle, I began writing in my head again (something I do a lot but seldom do anything with), but this time I decided to scribble. And when I say scribble, I mean open the notes app on my iPhone and pop down my thoughts.
I was so pleased I did, yes this poem is personal to me, but since sharing it, has resonated with so many mums, and hopefully will with you too. And even weeks later, it still brings tears to my eyes when I read it back to myself, as it always provokes the feeling and memory of laying in bed and snuggling up to her at night, something I don’t want to forget.
And here is my poem….
My life. My girl!
She wakes me every morning by jumping into bed
She grabs the remote and knocks me on the head
My eyes are tired my body aches
Despite her chatting, I’m not quite awake
She nags me for pancakes to put in her tummy
Words by the dozen, most of them ‘mummy’
She can’t find her shoes, won’t wear the skirt
Trips over her book bag and cries coz she’s hurt
I’m brushing her hair, it’s all in a mess
She’s dropping her breakfast all over her dress
We get in the car, we’re always late
We’re usually last in the rush to the gate
I kiss her goodbye and send her to learn
I miss her already but I have to go earn
The hours go quickly it’s already 3
I wait by the window so I’m easy to see
She runs to meet me, drawings in hand
With paint on her jumper and shoes full of sand
I ask her with interest about her day
But she’s worn herself out with a day full of play
Her eyes are closed and she’s super sleepy
A little bit grumpy and a little bit weepy
We head on home for a drink and some tea
She’s now wide awake and calling for me
Mummy come play, she’s always the winner
I can’t play for long I’ve got to make dinner
It’s time for a bath, a story then bed
No more playing, ‘it’s late’ I’ve said
‘I’m not very tired I don’t want to sleep’
Ten minutes later we don’t hear a peep
We sit on the sofa. Tired and weary
Watch the tv. Eyes all bleary
We head to bed early hoping for rest
We kiss goodnight and pray for the best
It’s just after midnight I hear her call
I’m awake and up, no hesitation at all
I ask what’s wrong, check forehead for heat
I tuck the covers back over her feet
I hop in her bed and snuggle up tight
She wiggles in closer as I turn off her light
She just wants a cuddle she just wants me
There’s no place in this world that I’d rather be
Then after attending Sienna’s first nativity recently, (cue loads of cute kids singing Funky Camel), I did it again!
The First Nativity
The chatter of voices as we wait to go in,
Just ten more minutes, before it begins.
I peek in the window to see what’s inside,
Where will we sit, who will decide?
Mummies and daddies, and little ones too,
Excited to see what the children will do.
We’re finding our seats, it’s filling up fast
All goes quiet and in comes the cast
Mary and Joseph, the angels and star,
The twinkly one, that was seen from afar
The little ones follow, they’re looking around
All so very still, they don’t make a sound
The nativity begins, the story explained
Reciting their lines that are so well ingrained
They all stop to sing so many new songs
Perfectly tuned, and not a word wrong
Then through the heads, I spot my girl
My heart skips a bit when she does her twirl
She’s singing and smiling, she sees me too
The largest of grins, as I come into her view
I’m trying so hard to hold back the tears
She’s doing so well, gone are my fears
My cheeks are sore from smiling wide
It’s possible I might burst with pride
They sing the last song as it comes to a close
It’s time for them to say cheerio
The audience cheers, and claps as they smile
We all stand up, this might take a while
Ten minutes later she’s holding my hand
She’s tired but happy it went as planned
Mummy, she says, were you impressed?
Yes my darling, you were the best!!
I hope you like them. Following on from this, I’ve now promised myself that in future when I’m feeling creative, I’ll get my notes app out again and jot it down so when I’m old(er) and grey(er), I can read these back and remind myself of those special moments in my life. And maybe Sienna can read them to her kids one day too!
I would love love love to hear any of your poems, it really doesn’t matter how good they are, but if you want to be creative and write something that you’ll read in years to come, then trust me, you won’t regret it!
If you enjoyed this post you might enjoy another of my recent posts ‘The things that change when you become a mum‘.