American comedian, Phyllis Diller, once exclaimed, “Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.” Cooking and cleaning have always been to daunting words to me. Don’t get me wrong, I really like a clean house, but as a homeschool family the clutter really piles up during the day. Our home has the “lived-in look.” Cooking has never been something I just loved either. Now I love baking desserts and things like that, and I want to make sure my kids have good, balanced meals, but mostly I cook out of necessity. My dear friend, Ute, pegged me several years ago when she gave me a magnet which simply stated, “I understand the concept of cooking and cleaning. Just not how it applies to me.”
In recent years I have come to the mindboggling conclusion that I love a messy house! No seriously, I do. These years of being a mom have flown by, just like every elderly person in the commissary warned me when I had a newborn, 3, 6, and 8 year old “helping” me shop. The older patrons would see me struggling to do a simple task like shopping in the grocery store and approach me with a sympathetic look, “Enjoy these years honey, it will pass by so quickly.” I would smile feebly, doubting their sincerity, as two kids fought over which box of cereal we would bring home, another kid skated down the aisle, and the baby cried his little head off.
I had this happen to me numerous times, even when my kiddos were being perfect angels. (which I’m sure may have been few and far between) “Enjoy this time, it passes so quickly.” Those words are etched in my mind, because today I realize the truth in them. While I’m not an old lady in the commissary (at least not yet-I will fight that one kicking and screaming), I already have seen the years race by. My oldest son has been married for over two years and he and his wife are both middle school teachers. My next two kids are both in college. My daughter is in a physical therapy assistant (PTA) program and my son is pursuing a sports journalism degree. And my “baby” just turned 16 years old!
So, regarding that messy house I would proclaim, “Bring it on! The messier the better.” That just means it is lived in. It means family members are laughing, and crying and overcoming obstacles together. We’re having friends over, eating snacks, watching movies, and playing games. We are coming and going from school, work, college, church and other important commitments. We are sharing life and touching souls together. Every time I wipe off a sticky countertop, stuff some clothes in an already overfilled washer, scrub the grout on a grimy bathtub, or push a vacuum across the leaf-tracked floor I will give thanks for this messy house, and all of those who reside in it or spend time in it.
Taking Back Happy 