I wish beautiful things for you.
I also hope you can recognise them when they show up.
Because they don't always look beautiful.
Sometimes they look like a mess.
A cardboard box spaceship blocking the doorway.
All of the house's pillows on the living room floor.
Little bits of paper everywhere.
A Whole Little World
The other morning I went to clean up a mess my daughter had made.
A bunch of little figurines, sitting on top of the cooler.
And I could feel it starting.
She didn't put it away before school.
I didn't ask her to.
Now I have to do it.
Spiraling on.
Then I paused.
And I actually looked at it.
All these little dolls,
arranged in this particular way.
Each one sitting just so.
It was a whole scene.
A whole little world.
And my kid built it.
I had seen her that morning before school,
playing, chatting away, using her imagination.
All the things I want for her.
And suddenly I was so happy to clean it up.
Because I remembered the magic that made it.
Get Down Lower
Grown-up eyes see a mess.
Something else on the to-do list.
But if you take a moment to put on your kid glasses,
get down lower,
you see something else.
You see all the hard work.
You see the creation.
You see the memories of the making.
You see the chit-chat between brother and sister.
The mess is just what's left behind.
What I Want Them to Learn
Parenthood is messy.
I don't think there's a way around that.
So I'm trying to embrace it more.
Because I'm not just trying to keep a clean house.
I'm trying to raise little humans
who know how to do things.
Who try things.
Who don't connect making a mess with fear or shame.
I want my kids to learn that mess is part of learning.
That it's totally acceptable.
And that kind of human doesn't grow in a house where every mess is something to be frustrated about.
My Reminder
I understand limits.
I have them too.
My kids clean up after themselves, don't get me wrong.
But they're still growing.
Still learning.
I'll definitely still be cleaning up some of their mess.
So I want to do it with love.
With happiness.
With appreciation for the childhood I get to give them. ✨
