Yesterday, I wrote this poem and posted it on my music blog. For those of you who didn't see it over there, here it is.

Kaleidoscope
The Reality of Being Me

By Talena Winters. ©2012

Sunday starts the week off busy
My “to-do list” makes me dizzy
Some church, some tea--do you suppose
Today I’ll find time to compose?

Monday, up with both feet running
Clean the house until it’s stunning
Drink some tea and help with school
Maybe take kids to the pool.
Grind the flour and bake the bread
I’d really rather be in bed!
“Wake up my inner songwriter?”
Oops—forgot to notify ‘er!

Tuesday, things don’t look much better
Good thing I’m a real “go-getter”
Or at least, I used to be--
I think it’s time to drink some tea;
Ah, yes! Now let’s help kids with school
And no! We’re not going to the pool.
And why don’t you all go outside
While laundry keeps me stuck inside?
I’ll pretend I’m doing lunges
In between the toilet plunges.
Maybe lyrics will come to me
While boiling another pot of tea.

Wednesday, sleep is torn asunder
By the sound of distant thunder.
Wait, that’s just the children pounding
Up and down the house, resounding.
What do you mean, you’re still not dressed?
And who’s going to clean up this mess?
The dishes done and children cleaned--
Good thing the schedule intervened
To keep the chaos under wraps.
Some tea, and maybe, just perhaps
Another cup. Ah, yes, at last
The school is done, and none-too-fast
‘Cause mommy’s got more work to do
Inside the office, so why don’t you
Go take the dogs out for a walk?
(Is this the cure for writer’s block?)

Thursday starts off with a clang:
Jump up because the cell phone rang--
A customer from Timbuktu
Who didn’t know, here it’s only two!
That’s how it goes on the internet
When you sell online, you can forget
‘Bout “business hours;” ‘cause “work from home”
Means your biz is everywhere you roam.
You’re at your friend’s house, having tea
Chatting quite industriously
When the phone rings, and “back to work!”
Answering questions, feeling like a jerk
While your tea gets cold (a sacrilege!)
And you lurk beside the fridge
Conducting business on the phone
While Friend drinks her tea, all alone.
But really, I am grateful that
My “job” lets me be here, not at
An office, where I’d never see
My friend for an afternoon tea
And more than likely, I would miss
The extra hug and extra kiss
My kids give me as we “do school”
‘Cause growing with them is way more cool
Than all those things I kinda wish
That I might “someday” accomplish.
The time for that will be the day
I watch my collegiates drive away.
But isn’t there some room in “now”
To write a song or two somehow?

Friday morn, I contemplate
If there is too much on my plate?
But no, I’m thankful for my life:
Mother, Teacher, Entrepreneur, Wife,
With dreams that God has given me.
I know that He will help me be
The one I need to be today
To tackle what He sends my way.
So, with another cup of tea
I teach the children “A-B-C”
I answer e-mails and organize
Clean the house and agonize
A little, ‘cause this whole week long
I didn’t write a single song
But no, remember? That’s okay
‘Cause I just gotta live today
Which has enough stuff of its own
Guide these l’il birds ‘til they’ve flown.
Now, looking forward to tonight
At supper, with candles alight,
We’re at the time that I love best
The Sabbath-when God said to rest.
We thank him for our family
And for blessings we can’t even see.
This special night helps blow away
All the “to-dos” I missed today.

On Saturday, I sit at last
Talk to my husband, holding fast
To precious shared time, sipping tea
Letting the week’s worries be.
The phone is off, the ‘puter, too
--Brief respite from the daily zoo.
Reflecting on the week gone by,
I wonder where the time did fly?
My kids grew some before my eyes!
And suddenly I realize
That I don’t want to miss a minute;
My life is busy ‘cause I’m in it.
I’ll knit and sew and teach and clean
I’ll work and play and love and dream.
I’ll sing my songs, whene’er they come
And be thankful that God gave me some;
I’ll live my life, eyes open wide
Enjoy each twist of this wild ride
And thank the Lord that He gave me
My passions, family, friends—and tea!