#32 Accept the Mess



"Play is a child's work."  - Jean Piaget

Accept the mess.  When you have small children life is messy.  Forgo your fantasies of spotless kitchens and gourmet meals.  Enjoy your clutter and Kraft dinner.   Yes, do clean up, do enjoy your cooking, but do not put huge demands on yourself for show-home style.

Life is about the "now".  And right now, you are busy focusing on your little ones.  Finger prints, crayon doodles, stuffies in makeshift beds, and little dolls happily going about their little lives in shoebox houses - this - is your home horizon. 

Working out of my home and being a stay at home mom means my children are with me pretty much 24/7.  It suddenly dawned on me one day that that was why I was unable to keep the house tidy - the kids were home all day with me.  And what do kids do best?  They play and create, and with that comes clutter and mess.

Sure, by all means enlist strategies and tricks to do quick and thorough clean-ups, use them when you can, but remember, in a few years there won't be the doodles on the walls and the fingerprints you once cursed about.

Whether it be bits of play dough that have gone astray, or tractor wheels stuffed in unsuspecting places, remember: tidy as you go, focus on laughter and fun, and best of all, get down and build block towers, sing silly songs, and and practice Patty Cake like there is no tomorrow.

Remind yourself of your value and the value of play.

  "Play is a child's work."

(Jean Piaget )

Make it your work too.

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Image courtesy of Jeanne Claire Maarbes / FreeDigitalPhotos.net