Day 27 : Not Forgetting the Real

I want my house to be all, you know...

Cue angelic choir.
{via Pinterest}

But it's really more like...

This.

And this.

Aaaaaaaaand this.

We went to the pumpkin patch to get pretty pumpkins, but I can't use them to decorate because they are always here.

What? You don't display your pumpkins on your couch? No?

There are days when this makes me completely crazy defeated. Failure mocks at every horizontal surface. I want to shut myself in the bathroom and hide. But I can't because the floor is covered in dirty clothes and the toilet paper has been pulled off the roll. Again.

Masochistic though it seems, I do not want to forget this. I don't want to forget that my house was less-than-pristine. I don't want to forget that most days I chose pipe-cleaners and pumpkin playing over laundry and dishes. I don't want to forget that one day is only one day - I cannot add time to it, so I need to use the hours I'm given doing the things that make the most difference.

When I was a child, I don't remember our house being messy. But, I do remember my mom telling guests, "Please, just overlook our mess." I looked around and thought, "What mess is she talking about?" There probably were dishes in the sink, mail on the table, cleats and gloves by the door, and Barbies hanging out in the pool {aka bathroom sink}. I didn't see the mess, I just saw life. 

When people come to my house, when they see dishes and piles of papers, when they have to move pumpkins in order to sit down, I hope that they don't overlook the mess. I hope that in the mess they see life. I hope they see that someone has cooked dinner, written notes, and played in the floor with babies. I hope they aren't offended that I didn't have a full-on tea service ready when they came. I hope they are happy that I moved the cardboard box and Legos away from the front door. 

I will not forget that others live this way, too. When I visit friends, I hope they don't go all good-girl on me and clean up life-spots. I don't want to forget that I don't have it all together either. When I'm older, wiser, and have it all together {yeah, 'cause that happens, right?}, I shall not forget that there was a time when kissing baby toes was way more important than wiping off the table. I don't want my sons and daughters-in-law {one day, you know, a long time from now} to feel like they have to have a spotless home for me to visit - I just want them to have a home full of love. 

Mmmmmhmmmmm.
{via Pinterest}

{A note to my husband: I promise that this is not my resignation from cleaning. I will still manage our home and make sure it is not overtaken by mice, ants, toddlers, or kudzu. Thank you for your gracious understanding of my decision [and of my clothes in the bathroom floor] - and for always letting me know that you know what's most important, too. Love you.}

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This is the twenty-seventh post in the series 31 Days of Not Forgetting.

If you'd like to read previous posts in the series, click here and scroll to the bottom.