It Reminded Me...

As I was frantically trying to clean up our lived-in house one day, in hopes of our guests not realizing how messy it was just minutes before they arrived, it dawned on me, this mess is okay. Now, I know the friends of ours that were coming to visit understand all too well about the struggles of keeping a house clean with a toddler and a dog all while working outside the home, so I know there was no judgment coming from them. But this cleaning frenzy I was in came to an abrupt standstill as these realizations took over my thoughts. 

The dishes in the sink mean we are fed and don't go hungry.

The crumbs on the floor remind me that we have a home to grow in. We have a floor below us and a roof above us.

The mess of toys in the living room and scattered across the house means that my daughter doesn't go without and that she has fun and can play her little heart out! It means she is happy and has a place for her imagination to grow. 

The unwashed floors mean that I am busy spending time doing other things, like enjoying time with my family instead of worrying about every last spot on the floor.

The pile of unwashed clothes at the bottom of the stairs tells me we have clean clothes to wear every day; that we don't have to worry about if we are going to be warm enough in the cold.

The wadded up pile of unused toilet paper in the bathroom garbage, put there by a learning-to-be-independent toddler, reminds me that we have running water and a toilet to use.


I will never judge anyone by the state of their house because I get it. The mess...I totally get it. To me, that mess means that we live here. We both work full time. We have a toddler and a dog and we get it! Of course, I like to have a clean house, in fact, it kind of drives me crazy when it's not clean-ish, and when I am not completely exhausted from a busy day of toddler-chasing, dog-walking, food-making, and hospital-working, my house will get cleaned. 

But, the next time I am worried about the mess in our house, stressing over the crumbs on the floor and the toys scattered across the house, I will remember these things. I will remember we aren't perfect and that we have to balance everything in life. I mean, seriously, if i made sure I had a clean house all the time, I would be doing nothing but following Palmer around with a vacuum, not allowing her to let her imagination run wild. I would be leaving the dog outside all. day. long. I would be constantly in the kitchen, cleaning up the array of snacks and dishes because we have been grazing all afternoon.

Instead, I will be grateful that I have a house to get messy.