Poem: Ozzie and Harriet Don’t Live Here Any More

There once was a clan of the Flibberty Flocks,
Who polished their smiles and synchronized clocks.
They ironed their curtains, they color-matched stew,
And claimed that perfection was simply “what’s due.”

They measured good children in inches and grades,
And swept all their feelings beneath tidy shades.
“If everybody behaves just the same,
We’ll surely win Normal’s Grand Glittering Game!”

Then wandered the Wobblebugs, laughing all day,
With one sock on backward and dreams gone astray.
They argued, they giggled, they stumbled, they cried…
Yet somehow they all felt remarkably tied.

For what is “a family”? Think hard if you dare.
Is it matching pajamas? Identical hair?
Or is it the place where your odd little spark
Can flicker to daylight instead of the dark?

No household has exactly two-point-three kids.
That’s one of statistics’ most comical fibs!
No mother says, “Darling, we’re raising point-three!”
No father cries, “Half of one’s climbing the tree!”

We’ve all got a Crumple, a Worry, a Wheeze,
A cupboard of quirks and emotional fleas.
A Grumble McMumble, a Fussifer Fit,
A Thinkle who thinks just a wee little bit.

So if being “normal” means perfectly planned,
With everyone marching while holding one hand,
You might find perfection is terribly neat…
But awfully dull from your head to your feet.

The finest of families—here’s what I’ve found—
Don’t always wear halos or never raise sound.
They simply make room for each person to grow,
To question, to tumble, to flourish, to know.

A child doesn’t need every toy in the store,
Or castles with seventy-seven front doors.
What nourishes hearts through the years, come what may,
Is knowing, “I’m welcome exactly this way.”

So if your own family seems crooked or bent,
With squeaks in the rafters and budgets well spent,
Don’t waste all your days chasing sitcoms of yore—
Ozzie and Harriet don’t live here anymore.

The family worth building—through laughter and tears—
Is one that grows stronger between all its ears.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What does your famly look like? Which of its quirks are endearing and make you smile? What about things that get on your nerves?