Life is Messy...and that is okay.

Life gets messy...

• toys scattered (and tripped over)
• piles of unclean clothes (that probably should have been washed WAY sooner)
• dirty dishes piled in the sink (because you are either too tired or too distracted to put the clean ones away)
• bathrooms are not sparkling clean
• papers piled up on the kitchen counter (but at least the bills are paid, right?)
• emails let unresponded to (the important one always get answered)

...yet it will all be okay.

Being currently sick and 17 weeks pregnant, already having a 2-year old and (almost) 1-year old, priorities change. I am resolved with the fact that life gets messy and that is okay.

I use to have such a high standard of "clean" and an even higher standard for communicating with the outside world, being over the top thoughtful...then I had kids. I realized that I can no longer do everything I once did...at least not to the standard I use to hold. I am sure that one day I will get back there but it is freeing in a sense to let go of these high standard and embrace this season on a messy life. 

It does not mean that I live in a pigpen and things never get clean. It means I allow toys to be scattered on the floor throughout the day, picking up at the END of the day on most days instead of spending precious time picking them up and then picking up the same toys again... about 5 times a day. It means I teach and encourage my kids to clean up after themselves (and it works!!!! even at 11-months old!). I much rather spend time PLAYING with my kids rather than being their maid and always picking up after them.

It does not mean that I never do laundry. It means that laundry gets done when the baskets are full instead of doing a million mini-loads. It also means that on many occasions you can walk into my house to see a basket of clean unfolded laundry sitting next to the couch. I will get to it within a day or so. It might take me just as long to put them away but I reassure you, our clothes are clean. They do get folded and hung up/put away...just on a bit of a different time scale than before. I much rather spend time with my kids playing than folding clothes.

It does not mean that flies are fluttering in my kitchen around the dirty dishes in the sink. It does mean that it might take a full 24-hours to unload the clean dishes, reload with the dirty ones and start the whole cycle over. For me, this is one of my most dreaded tasks...who knows why, but it is. Tag-teaming and communicating with my husband ensure that our sink is empty about 50% of the time during the week. Seriously, I much rather spend time with my kids playing than doing the dishes (and if my husband wants to do them...even better!) 

It does not mean that mold and other undesirable "things" are growing in my bathroom. It means I wipe things as I go and about every month or so I do a deep clean of the bathroom. With potty training, blowout diapers and entering the muddy-outside weather, my bathrooms sees a lot of action. It is hard to keep them sparkling. I would literally have to spend at least an hour a day to keep them sparkling....sorry, not going to happen. But again, I assure you, are bathrooms are clean and they do get a deep scrub just not on the scale they use to. I much rather be spending time playing with my kids then on my pregnant hand and knees scrubbing the bathroom.

It does not mean that I have totally disregarded my responsibilities as an adult. On the contrary, I think I take my role as an adult more seriously now since I have two (well, three) creatures depending on me, a husband to love, an employer to fulfill my work obligation as well as my community/friends to connect with and serve. Life gets busy. The true priorities will also be taken care of with the right focus and heart. This may mean that piles of papers get unfiled and stacked on my kitchen counter for a week or two. I am okay with that.

So, here is the current view of my living room.


On most days it does not look like this but I must say we are making some great and fun memories among the mess. I love the saying, "Please excuse the mess. We are making memories here." Welcome to my new perpsective on life. As I continue to work on embracing this season of life, join me! It is more freeing than you think to let go of some of those high standards and ..... well..... just live!

Pease be upon you.

~B~