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“What's is more important than a home?” he said on his return,
“Old ways I like where I provide through money that I earn;
And then come home and have someone who's looking after me,
The sharing of the load that way is what I like to see. ”

When we left home dad said to us – two sisters and two brothers –
To guys – ‘Umbrella set you up, select a girl from others;
Invite her underneath its shade, provide, and her defend
To girls – accept an invite, to your family life then bend.

St. John said he recalled the day that Res life came to end –
When Feds said kids’ allowance to the mothers they would send;
With ninety-five percent of men no jobs nor future bright,
The women set umbrellas up then called in ‘Mr. Right’.

I'm Creenglish in a culture here where money calls the tune;
Few people have the cash for moms to work on living room;
While dad defends, provides, out there in whirling world of clay,
So spin they both on wheel of life, not ‘family values’ way –

While modern life means much less work for women to take care
Of nitty-gritty tasks and chores, enriching home life there;
But every job has grungy parts, so when we experts are
We move beyond for better parts, a richer life by far.

Canadian society, our part of the village there,
Is swirl of cultures from the world – few places can compare.
Affecting all are ‘jobs’ and ‘cash’ – both out the window went,
Us leaving with a lifestyle based on money to us lent.

There's banks, and cards, and doles of sorts, and governmental debt;
Offshore went jobs to hire the poor so cheaper goods we'd get.
It buys us time till it collapses – house of cards implodes,
But strained are our relationships as family life explodes.

Long time ago a guy said, “Stu, best disconnect two thoughts,
If long you wish to live with wife and children that you've got:
God gives us money, food, and things, a multitude of ways –
Regardless, you've a task to do, regardless if it pays”.

At first I could not see the point, but then they pulled the cash,
To stop me in my tracks, they thought, from doing this and that.
I smiled and said, ‘I'd soons’t be dead than thus capitulate,
And kept on with my task without the pay, for heaven's sake.

I found another world beyond the world’s economy
It's not been easy much less fun – I'm blind, I plainly see;
But underneath the surface mess I renovate away
So when the family comes back home, it's better Christmas Day –

For parable is to be found in these three months of toil:
The chaos in our home has mixed with gyprock dust and soil;
But in the end it's quick cleaned up, and gleans our brand new place –
Instead of looking tidy while substantially disgrace.

A plumber friend came fixed a sewer pipe in house of ours
I asked him how he stood the crap there hour after hour.
He said, “I focus on the new and build in spite of it,
And when I'm done, I leave it new, let others clean up shit”.

Whatever story you prefer, they each point to one thing:
That family life today for all is topsy-turvy thing;
The only question that remains as we select our ways –
“Who builds things new amidst the mess, regardless if it pays?”

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