"Happy Home Adventures"

 
"Bullfrogs in the sock drawer,
drill bits with the bobby pins,
buttons, beads, and nickels
filling up the cracker tin.

Matchbox cars mixed with the matches,
dirty socks under a bed,
blobs of Play Dough fused together,
cartoon doodles of robot heads.

A kazoo and a drum on the kitchen table,
a mud-pie recipe requiring 'lots of sand',
paper mache ingredients spread out in the hallway -
a happy home has busy hands.

BBs in a mason jar,
tooth fairy findings in a Ziplock bag,
melted bar soap in a puddle,
comfy beds with springs that sag.

Mis-matched plates and silverware,
patient houseplants with braided leaves,
a human ladder made of siblings,
paper snowflakes on the winter eaves.

Muddy rain boots by the door,
a worn-out path down to the creek,
carpet rubbed in trafficked places -
a happy home has running feet.

Crickets singing with the radio,
fingernail clippers in the silverware drawer,
pebbles in pockets in the washing machine,
hand prints on the white back door.

Building blocks on the green front lawn,
a bicycle in pieces with a wrench nearby,
watercolor art draped over a clothesline
made from the string of a mended kite.

Goofy poems and Bible verses,
movie lines and midnight dreams,
related with charming sagacity -
a happy home has voices sweet.

Pencil colors and a coloring book,
on the steps of the big back porch, 
fireflies in a screen-topped jar,
books in stacks on shelves and floor.

A rake and broom against a tree
(reassurance of a fresh-kept yard),
kittens with daisies around their necks,
wallet photos mixed with UNO cards.

Swinging braids and tiny earrings,
cowboy boots and pocket knives,
a happy home is filled with learners -
baking cookies; counting by fives.

So sticky hugs and greasy kisses,
dirty hands and barefoot feet,
shining eyes and happy faces,
work to make a home complete."

- Copyright Kyrie McAlan 2016

{Note: I scribbled most of the above poem in July, right before Jaylyn and Jewel's oldest sister and her family (who had been temporarily living in The Grandparents' house after their own flooded) moved back home. With eight children, there is never a dull moment when visiting them (the photo above is the next-to-youngest son)! We loved having them so close for those months as their house was being repaired, and on the night we were up at The Grandparents' house helping them get ready to move back home, I realized just how much I was going to miss them being up there, filling the dear old house with noise and life and the silly little shenanigans that kids come up with! This is for them.}