THE BALANCING ACT

 
Image by supervalouf from Pixabay

Have you had days when hours hang heavy in a long-linked chain?

You gaze in frustration at the unmoving clock hands in vain?

The day drags on relentlessly, the work piles never end,

Of late, do you feel that has become the trend?

I smile thinking of our younger days of abandon and fun,

Just the two of us – exuberant, romantic, needing no one;

Keeping house was exciting, buying new things a game,

Love bloomed around us like the perfect picture frame.

                                                                        Unsplash

Then arrived a tiny gift, a baby girl so sweet and fragile,

Chubby cheeks, rosebud fingers, translucent nails to beguile,

Our little daughter, apple of our eye, kept us up all night,

Yet holding her fragrant and close made us feel just right.

                                                                          Magnific

Young parents were we, strapped of cash many a time,

My partner slogged it out as though rest were a crime;

Our rosebud grew, we grew with her – life remained the same,

She started school, and so did I – a teacher I became!

Work was often tough, but the three of us made it work;

Our precious time with our rosebud we never did shirk,

Insidiously the work hours encroached on our personal time,

As we desperately strove to reach home before the clock did chime.

The wonder years flew by, she was soon a young lass,

Brimming with self-confidence, optimism and sass;

College, graduation, a job, and then true love found her,

The hourglass shifted sand, time for her to move on further!

Now I had all the time in the world that I did not need,

My partner still worked long hours, I decided to follow his lead,

I filled my diaries with countless words, as I wrote reams,

A good way to drive away loneliness, to ignite my dreams.

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On certain nights I was so drained I would a siesta take,

Before my husband got home; our beautiful dog would stay awake,

Exhausted after the never-ending commute, his eyes too would close,

Another day gone by; however, it was the life we chose.

The grandchildren arrived, time for my husband to retire,

PNGEgg

It was time for me to work full time; I was happy and all wired!

The tables turned, life changed and both our roles reversed

I burnt the midnight oil, in a role in which I was well-versed.

Now he waited patiently for me, as I had done for so long,

While he understood, there was times when things went wrong;

We tiptoed about on eggshells, often tempers frayed,

Suddenly the years had flown by; we had both greyed!

                                                                   PNGTree

The one fine day, a light bulb flashed; realization struck,

There was no more time to pass the buck,

Time and tide wait for no one, there was no doubt,

Finally, it is Destiny that does wield the clout.

I cut back on my work though I loved it so,

We would spend our lives together, and maybe just go

On a trip to sunny Greece, or travel to the beach,

Go to the ends of the earth as far as we could reach!

                                                                   123RF

The joy of living returned, as did the adventures,

“Thank God,” he joked, “We’re doing this before dentures!”

The next moment we had embarked on a long lazy cruise,

The best way we knew to frighten away the blues!

So here we are both, with good advice to dole,

Spending precious time, hand in hand, is now our goal;

To grasp every nettle before time runs out,

And climb every mountain before we have gout!

 
Etsy

  This post is  a part of Beyond the Desk Blog Hop hosted by Manali Desai and Sukaina Majeed under #EveryConversationMatters.