When I'm an old lady, I'll live with my kids,
and make their life happy and filled with such fun,
I want to pay back all the joy they've provided,
returning each deed. Oh, they'll be so excited.
...When I'm an old lady and live with my kids.
I'll write on the wall with red, white, and blue;
and bounce on the furniture wearing my shoes.
I'll drink from the carton and then leave it out.
I'll stuff all the toilets and oh, how they'll shout.
...When I'm an old lady and live with my kids.
When they're on the phone and just out of reach,
I'll get into things like sugar and bleach.
Oh, they'll snap their fingers and then shake their head,
and when that is done I'll hide under the bed.
...When I'm an old lady and live with my kids.
When they cook dinner and call me to meals,
I'll not eat my green beans or salads congealed.
I'll gag on my okra, spill milk on the table,
and when they get angry, run fast as I'm able.
...When I'm an old lady and live with my kids.
I'll sit close to the TV, through the channels I'll click.
I'll cross both my eyes to see if they stick.
I'll take off my socks and throw one away,
and play in the mud until the end of the day.
...When I'm an old lady and live with my kids.
And later in bed, I'll lay back and sigh,
and thank God in prayer and then close my eyes;
and my kids will look down with a smile slowly creeping,
and say with a groan, "She's so sweet when she's sleeping."
...When I'm an old lady and live with my kids.
I looked for this poem elsewhere on the Internet, hoping to turn up an author to credit. No luck on the author, but it's on lots and lots and lots of other websites, in one variation or another.
Mother's Day in the United States is on Sunday, May 8, this year.
Update: A reader writes that his mother, Joanne Bailey Baxter, is the author. He provides the original, copyrighted poem in the comments section here.
3 comments:
Thanks for writing. I see too many families who can't seem to see anything but the burdens that old people bring along with them. It's nice to hear from somebody who can look back with a smile and affection.
We have a friend whose very old brother has been giving everybody gray hairs by wandering out at odd times and going horseback riding (but not getting the cinch tight and winding up crashed)or by going fishing at midnight without telling anybody. And, of course, when you've got a buckeroo who won't quit, you either accept it (and enjoy the spirit of it), or you go nuts. We're pretty much just shaking our heads in amazement most of the time.
He's not making life easy for those around him, but he sure does keep life interesting. And what an example he sets. It's hard to give yourself quite as many excuses when you hear about somebody that ill and old who refuses to give up.
http://suitableformixedcompany.blogspot.com/2005/04/when-im-old-lady-and-live-with-my-kids.html#links
My mother wrote this poem many years ago and has had it published in several local papers and senior group newsletters.
She would just like to see her name listed as the author.
Dave Baxter
dddbax@centurytel.net
When I'm an Old Lady
Author: Joanne Bailey Baxter, Lorain, OH
When I'm an old lady, I'll live with my kids,
and make them so happy, just as they did.
I want to pay back all the joy they've provided,
returning each deed. Oh, they'll be so excited.
(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids.)
I'll write on the wall with reds, whites and blues,
and bounce on the furniture wearing my shoes.
I'll drink from the carton and then leave it out.
I'll stuff all the toilets, and oh, how they'll shout.
(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids.)
When they're on the phone and just out of reach,
I'll get into things like sugar and bleach.
Oh, they'll snap their fingers and then shake their head,
and when that is done I'll hide under the bed.
(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids.)
When they cook dinner and call me to meals,
I'll not eat my green beans or salads congealed.
I'll gag on my okra, spill milk on the table,
and when they get angry, run fast as I'm able.
(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids.)
I'll sit close to the TV, through the channels I'll click,
I'll cross both my eyes to see if they stick.
I'll take off my socks and throw one away,
And play in the mud until the end of the day.
(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids.)
And later in bed, I'll lay back and sigh,
and thank God in prayer and then close my eyes,
and my kids will look down with a smile slowly creeping,
and say with a groan. "She's so sweet when she's sleeping!"
(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids.)
©Copyright April 1991 -- Joanne Bailey Baxter, Lorain, OH
Dear Mr. Baxter, Glad to. Thanks for the information.
Post a Comment