Dust if you must............

My Mum always said 'a clean and tidy house is the sign of an empty life', meaning that women who 'just' did housework, had nothing else to occupy their minds and bodies.
I reckon she was right. The farm house was cleaned sufficiently, but was seldom tidy, because there was always so much else for her to do. She belonged to a generation where women were not expected to partake in gainful employment and despite the fact that, once married, she never had such outside employment (to say she never worked would be just plain wrong) she always had much to do outside the life of a housewife. Whether it was knitting clothes for the children of countless friends, baking cakes for various village events, training sheepdog puppies for Dad, or just helping out on the farm, her days were full and happy.
I'm afraid my life (and my house) are much the same............

Anyway, I was reminded of her, when I cam across this poem by Rose Milligan:

Dust if you must, but wouldn't it be better
To paint a picture or write a letter,
Bake a cake or plant a seed,
Ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust if you must, but there's not much time,
With rivers to swim and mountains to climb,
Music to hear and books to read,
Friends to cherish and life to lead.

Dust if you must, but the world's out there,
With sun in your eyes, the wind in your hair,
A flutter of snow, a shower of rain,
This day will not come around again.

Dust if you must, but bear in mind,
Old age will come and it's not kind.
And when you go - and go you must -
You, yourself, will make more dust.