Happy Mother’s Day!!

My neighbor gave this to me some weeks back and then I found it in a collection of poems my mother gave me years ago. My intention was to write a funny poem about motherhood, but you know how life is. I got busy. Then busier. So you’ll have to wait on an original poem, but until then I wanted to share this one. I’m sure you’ve all read it, but if you look at it through the lens of motherhood it is particularly meaningful. Especially when you want to throw in the towel. Or throw a towel at someone else. There are days I’m ready to give my two-weeks-notice to this clan of mine but there’s no one to take my resignation. I suppose that would be my job too.

I’ve taken some literary license with this and made it more geared towards moms. I’ve put my own spin in red—just to clarify my contribution to a poem I didn’t write. Here’s wishing all the mothers out there a fabulous day!

Don’t Quit
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When she might have won had she stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering woman,
Often the struggler has given up,
When she might have captured the victor's cup,
And she learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close she was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

-Author Unknown