Technically, taking out the trash is not Friday’s Fun Find. That today, May 10th, is Clean Up Your Room Day, makes this day kinda special. Mothers (and okay, three dads out there) are chasing after kids as I write, waving the calendar in their kids’ faces, yelling, “But it’s an official holiday!”
And even though I don’t have a clutch of kids hanging about my house these days, I do have the Beneficent Mr. Hall, who has been a muse for many a piece of writing. Including this (ridiculously appropriate for today) poem.
Taking Out the Trash
It was just ‘round the time when kids fall asleep,
And fathers plop down in soft chairs.
With dishwashers running, and TVs a-humming,
As mothers tread soft on the stairs.
“Did you take out the trash?” she asked with a smile,
She doubted he’d gotten right to it.
“Ten minutes,” he said, never turning his head.
Why rush around now and do it?
She picked up the gym clothes, the games and the books.
She put everything back in its place.
He sprawled on his seat, with his two propped-up feet,
A look of sheer bliss on his face.
She packed all the lunches, wrote checks, stamped the bills,
Fed the dog, even cleaned the fish bowl.
He cheered on his team, with a whoop and a scream.
“The trash, please!” she begged. His eyes rolled.
“Okay,” he replied to the tone in her voice,
With a sidelong glance at the mother.
“I can never relax,” he said, stating the facts.
“It’s just one thing after another!”
Cathy C. Hall Writes 
Haha! I love your poem, Miss Cathy, it is so cute! Thanks for sharing, I’d love to hear more in the future.
P.S. I didn’t realize today was a holiday- good to know.:)
Well, Katherine, I have a feeling if you hang about ’round here, you’ll hear plenty more. 😉 And P.S. You’d be surprised how many holidays there are out there…today, for instance is Frog Jumping Day. (For reals–I couldn’t make up something like that–)
I wish I’d know this was a holiday sooner in the week 🙂 — I would have used it to full advantage today on my kids!
Sorry, Rowena. Mark it on your calendar for next year. Then talk about it ALL the time. The kids’ll love that. 😉
This is great, Cathy! Although around here, everyday has to be clean-up-your-room day. Yet oddly enough, they’re never clean. Hmmm…. Happy early Mother’s Day!
It’s a conundrum, Deb…have you tried making up your own holiday? I had one called, “If You Don’t Pick It Up, I Will and It Will Go in the Trash.” (Gosh, that was a fun holiday!) 😉
I would chuckle, but it’s oh-too-true. 😉
Yeah, most men have it soooooo rough.
You know how it is with humor, Sioux. It’s almost always based on the truth. 🙂
Heh…I’m afraid my housekeeping skills and attitude are more in line with Mr. Hall’s…a fact that my poor sweetie laments on a regular basis!
I’m sure you have other fine qualities to recommend you, Trisha. That’s the way it is with the Beneficent Mr. Hall–I find a paycheck a fine quality in a person. 🙂
So true! Once again, Master Yoda, you’ve gone to the heart of the matter with wisdom and humor. And if I didn’t know better, I’d think you’ve bugged my house. 🙂
Didn’t have to bug it, Lisa. You know we were separated at birth. 🙂