I live by this quote. Not just because it gives me an excuse for all of the above, but because it's true. I could easily have the cleanest house on the block, with no messy rooms, no laundry buildups, no sticky kitchen floors. But I don't. I have sticky floors, a messy kitchen(and living room, and bedroom..), laundry piles, dirty ovens and one of the happiest little boys I know. I'm okay with that. If I spent my spare time cleaning my house I would miss out on so much. I would miss out on Max saying dinosaur for the first time. I would miss the kisses, horsey rides, funny faces and boo boo's that I have to make all better. I'll take a messy house any day of the week. Now, my house isn't dirty, we aren't living in filth people. But I don't have a clutter free house, our living room is stacked with toys, my bedroom floor is filled with clothes(clean!). My kitchen table doesn't host a perfectly manicured centerpiece, it holds drawings brought home from daycare and day old raisins. I do envy people who have beautiful homes with perfect decor, but that's not us. I think of my home as ecclectic. A jumble of things that we found on our journey. A painting from Cape May, dutch wooden shoes from an antique shop, a handmade broom from British Columbia. These are the things that make our house a home. Not a chandelier, not a spotless oven or perfectly manicured lawn. We have each other, memories of the hilarious times we've had, and lots of tchotchkes we've collected along our way. So yes, I've got sticky floors, messy kitchens, laundry piles and dirty ovens. But I've also got a happy kid, and that's what matters most.
Here is Max this morning with bread crumbs surrounding his feet and a pile of clean diapers behind him that Momma has yet to stuff. THESE are the moments I live for, not cleaning my bathroom floor. So it all boils down to this. We've all felt this way I'm sure, that the house needs cleaned, the laundry needs done and dinner needs cooked. It doesn't always happen, and sometimes you feel guilty about it. Guilt that the house is a mess, your child has had chef boyardee ravioli for dinner again and you haven't showered all day. I read this quote and the guilt melted away because like I've already said, it's true.
Here's to messy home & Happy Kids(& Mommas!!),
Linds
thanks for posting that...i needed to read something like this and remind myself everyday the house doesn't need to be perfect, my little boy just needs to be happy =)
ReplyDeleteNikki, I remind myself every now & then too. We tend to forget what's more important sometimes. In the end we have two happy, perfect little boys, and really that's all that matters!!
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