Excuse the Mess
©1991 by Susan Noyes Anderson
Why does my mother have to say,
“Go clean your room?” It wrecks my day.
“Go clean your room!” she says to me.
“There’s clothes where carpet used to be,
and games and books on top of those,
and snacks starting to decompose!
Clean that room! Right now!! This minute!!!
(or you’ll spend the weekend in it.)”
“I’d love to clean my room!” I say.
“In fact, if I could have my way,
I’d clean Sunday through Saturday!
There’s just one problem; don’t you see?
Well, actually, there’s thirty-three”......
“my homework’s due i lost it too can’t find my book don’t wanna look my finger’s hurt i’m scared of dirt my lips look blue my tongue does too i stepped on gum i jammed my thumb the floor’s too low i stubbed my toe i broke my back the toe turned black i’m feeling bad my best friend’s mad my gun won’t squirt i stained my shirt my nail came off i have a cough it makes me choke i smell some smoke i think there’s bugs under my rugs i need a net my feet got wet my shoe’s unlaced i’m being chased i’ve got the giggles my eyebrow wiggles i have a sty my mouth feels dry i have a twitch that needs an itch i need to sneeze god bless me please”
“Uh-oh. I guess that’s thirty-four.
No wonder I can’t do that chore!”
"Excuse the mess" has been brought to you by the letter "E."
Click below to see more entertaining E entries.
I used to think that it was just my kids with all the excuses, but now I realize it is other peoples kids as well as my mothers middle daughter as well.
ReplyDelete:)
I'm pretty sure I have heard everyone of those excuses at sometime.
ReplyDeleteBTW did you come into my house and photograph my children's rooms. . .because seriously they look all too familiar!
Ha! I'm laughing right out loud. I'm pretty sure I had this same discussion...not quite so poetic, with my 14 year old yesterday!
ReplyDeleteAnd bless you!!
I used to hear every one of those excuses from my kids - more specifically my youngest son, the master of excuses.
ReplyDeleteMy youngest son was the last to leave home and there were a lot of empty bedrooms by the time he left. He used to just try and move into one of the other bedrooms when his got too messy!
ReplyDeleteDidn't work...
I don't think I will let JDaniel see this list of reasons.
ReplyDeleteI love it- it's so true. Any excuse to get out of cleaning a room.
ReplyDeleteThat was Emma's room, til we offered ear piercing in exchange for 3 months of a clean room (hopefully the habit forms). It's worked so far- keeping my fingers crossed
Sue, how'd you get pictures of my kids rooms? And were you following them around to catch the excuses? I LOVE THIS POST!!
ReplyDeleteThose are some darn good excuses! Thanks for commenting on my blog. It's nice to meet you.
ReplyDeleteROFLOL!!!! Are you channeling my daughter??? I have to share it with her after school! Thank you for the big giggles! OHHHHH SOOO accurate!
ReplyDeleteWe have this conversation every afternoon, and he's just 3!
ReplyDeleteI love that . I have never heard so many excuses for not cleaning up your room . Nicely done
ReplyDeleteHey,when did you get pictures of my kids' rooms?
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written and illustrated. I've never heard some of those excuses. Some good ones in there.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only "mean mom" on the planet. Every time I tell my daughter she has to clean her room before she can go play with friends, I am the meanest mother to grace the planet. I loved this little poem though. I'll have to give it to her so she has some better excuses than just "I don't want to."
ReplyDelete:-)
HA!
ReplyDeleteI remember having these conversations with my mom. Hilarious!!
It was so much fun reading your post. Somethings never change. While my daughter's room looked identical to your pictures I would often think that one day she too will have a daughter as messy as she is. She just moved out to go to university. I often go by and take a peek in her room and it calms me to see how clean it is now LOL. I cant say that I miss our fights about it. I think I have OCD....LOL
ReplyDeletelol - that was great!! ...and perhaps a preview of what's to come?!
ReplyDeleteThat was my kids for sure!! I, however, did not have that problem! I only owned 6 dresses...one for each day of the week and one for Sunday! (Jeans for Saturdays and after school.) I owned not much else, had only 2 dolls all my life, not many other toys so my shared room (sister) was pretty empty. Easy to keep clean! All my friends had pretty much the same...ah, the 60's! Now I have waaayyyy to much stuff and am trying to downsize. ah! --the 60's of my life!!!
ReplyDeleteI love your posts! Everything's better with a rhyme!
ReplyDeleteThe only time I ever saw your room looking like that was after the earthquake. You guys were actually pretty good about cleaning your rooms. And Rich, remember how every single thing in his room was organized by printed labels on his drawers?
ReplyDelete:) You just may have been describing my room! Awesome.
ReplyDeleteHaha this is such a great E post! I don't have any kids, but I'm quite certain my mom had this discussion with me on more than one occasion.
ReplyDeleteI can relate! La
ReplyDeleteAnd where are the pictures of YOUR desk?
ReplyDeleteHahaha! You are so clever, Sue! Once a year, I would rent a back-hoe and clean the kids' rooms.
ReplyDelete(not really)
Oh boy that really sounds familiar!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid my sister and I shared a room. We actually had 2 beds in it... one for piling the clothes on and we shared the other...lol
ReplyDeleteOh boy... I find such comfort in all of these messes....and you know I have many excuses for not doing all the things I need to do too.
ReplyDeleteI used to be one of those kids. LOL
ReplyDeleteSu-sieee! Mac
This and That. Here and There. Now, Sometimes Then.
Wow. I thought MY kids rooms were messy. Now I don't feel so bad!
ReplyDeleteKudos on the funny excuses.
WHERE did you find those pictures?? But then I should admit, growing up my room was that bad or worse.
ReplyDeleteWow that reminded me of my sisters room, and her very creative reasons why it looked that way!
ReplyDeleteThat is a mess! OMG!! Excellent!
ReplyDeleteomg ... i remember the time our dog actually did eat my daughters homework ... thankfully it was homework that was already graded ... but excuses ... mom's & teachers must hear them all!!!
ReplyDeleteYou sure you didn't get all these from my 8-year old?!
ReplyDeleteLOL~ cute poem! Love all those excuses :-)
ReplyDeleteI used to say those words to my kids "clean your room", and now mine looks a bit similar to your photos! Just no time left in the day to do everything :-)
ReplyDeleteAlways love catching up with your tidbits...thanks for the laugh...as usual!
ReplyDeleteLove it!!! Hahaha. Reminds me of a Shel Silverstein poem called "Sick"
ReplyDeleteThat was an awesome 'e' post! I think I use some of those excuses myself to avoid cleaning up after my four kids. Thanks for sharing that!
ReplyDeleteis that a room? how messy!
ReplyDeletenice! everyone can relate! thanks for sharing! blessings...s...
ReplyDeleteAnd I thought it was just my daughter....thanks for the chuckler!
ReplyDeleteThat could have been written, in part, by my daughter!
ReplyDeleteSue!
ReplyDeleteChildrens book!
My Grands would love this in book form. I'm going to bookmark it and read it to them when they are all over this weekend for pumpkin carving.
Your writing is so amazing!
And I love, love, love the illustrations, too!
Thanks for linking.
You are a wonder.
A+
Hilarious!! I have the answer to mess. My eldest has gone off to Uni and suddenly the house is MUCH easier to keep clean :)
ReplyDelete