'Specting Her Beau

Here is a poem that a friend of ours sent me last week. She copied it from a magazine that they get, Country Woman, and she thought we might adapt it for Rachel! The editor's note states:

This charming poem, shared by Nora M. Lenke of Aberdeen, Washington, was written by her sister Marie Johnston in 1926, when Marie was just 11 years old.

Us girls thought it was really cute, so here it is.....

When Mabel 'Spects Her Beau

I tell you, it's mysterious
at our house once a week.
We know there's something in the wind,
but we don't dare to speak.
For Sis just bosses everything
as says how it should go.
Oh, we all have to stand around
when Mabel 'spects her beau.

She crimps her hair an awful lot
and lights the parlor fire.
And she's so afraid we'll spoil her dress,
she won't let us come nigh her.
Pa kinda chuckles to himself
and winks at me and Joe,
but Ma looks pretty serious
when Mabel 'spects her beau.

At supper, she got no appetite,
but fixes up a plate
of little dabs of this and that
when Mabel 'spects her date.
She does the dishes in a flash
and thinks the clock is slow.
Things always have to hustle so
when Mabel 'spects her beau.

She whisks us youngsters off to bed
in strict, big-sister style.
On other evenings, we sit up
and play for quite a while.
And we ain't supposed to see or hear
nor even want to know
a single thing that's going on
when Mabel 'spects her beau.