OUR HOUSE

Our House
By Edgar Guest

We play at our house and have all sorts of fun,
An’ there’s always a game when supper is done;
An’ at our house there’s marks on the walls an’ the stairs,
An’ some terrible scratches on some of the chairs;
An’ ma says that our house is surely a fright,
But pa and I say that our house is all right.

At our house we laugh an’ we sing an’ we shout,
An’ whirl all the chairs and the tables about,
An’ I rassle my pa an’ I get him down too,
An’ he’s all out of breath when the fightin’ is through;
Am’ ma says our house is surely a sight,
But pa an’ I say that our house is all right.

I’ve been to houses with pa where I had
To sit in a chair like a good little lad,
An’ there wasn’t a mark on the walls an’ the chairs,
An’ the stuff that we have couldn’t come up to theirs;
An’ pa said to ma that for all of their joy
He wouldn’t change places and give up his boy.

They never have races nor rassles nor fights.
Coz they have no children to play with at nights;
An’ their walls are all clean and their curtains hang straight,
An’ everthing’s shiny an’ right up to date;
But pa says with all of its racket an’ fuss,
He’d rather by far live at our house with us.

I read this poem today, and just had to laugh! I can relate to the mother in this poem lately. In fact, just this past weekend, the kids pulled on the curtain and yanked one end of the rod out of the wall! I was so mad! It was easily fixed and no real damage done, but sometimes I just want things to look nice. With a large family, the "stuff" in our life gets a lot of use.

I am also thankful for husband who has fun with our kids, even if I would often call it rough housing.

And given the choice, I would also choose our house with all of its racket an' fuss!