Parenting Places

Now women say that when you have a babe at the breast,
Sleeping when the babe sleeps is considered best.
But back in the days when I had my first,
This was the time for a housekeeping burst.

It was important to create a castle for your man,
Cooking and cleaning til things were spic and span.
And then to be sure that the babies were quiet
When he came home, or there would be a riot.

Putting on lipstick and combing one's hair;
He had better not find you resting in a chair
If you didn't please him, he was perfectly free
To find somewhere more peaceful to be.

Now, as I sit with my recovering friend,
I remember how different things were back then.
I clean when and what's needed, but no more;
No one ever got sick from an unswept floor.

I don't know that things are necessarily better;
Some have no one home to tend their litter.
It would be nice if there were official block parents;
It could even make for good economic sense.

Any parent who was the parent in charge,
Would be enforcing the neighborhood's laws.
Now that there are many stay home "mister moms"
We would probably pay them fairly for their time.

We could even have grandpas and grandmas paid
To soothe the babies when they are afraid.
Those who haven't lost their energy yet
Could teach skills to the younger set.

This is what old time schools and churches did
Before our communities became so big.
Community schools would be perfect spaces
To create these safe parenting places.