A {FOUR} Letter Word

Oh! I bet you have already guessed the BIG ones, haven’t you?

The ones that fall into the “cardinal sin” category and bring out the threats of washing a child’s mouth out with soap.

(WAIT – I have either caused you to remember threats or punishments from your childhood, OR have added an old standard to your parenting arsenal. For both, I sincerely apologize.)

The {FOUR} letter word I am thinking of is the bane of every mother’s existence.  To raise children means cleaning of some sort has to be happening all the time.  From noses to tables, backpacks to rears, from floors to bathroom mirrors … MOTHERHOOD = MESS.

Does MESS stand for Making Every Surface Sticky at your house?

or how about …

Making Every Step Strategically?

How do you handle the MESS?

Denial?

OCD?

Black trash bags?

Pick your battles?

Let me tell you about my MESSY mothering history.recite-29837--1608742361-fl9q4k

When I had one child, I spent more time playing pick up instead of actually playing. Sure, I’d sit on the floor for awhile and move Rescue Heroes around as instructed and hammer at his pretend workbench. But slyly, I would pick up the entire time we were playing.  It was a sickness easily cured by having another child.

Soon we had toys for the bedrooms, the living room, the basement, the driveway, and the cabinets in the kitchen. They were all assigned to an area that they were “supposed” to stay near. (Sounds good, right?) But as you know, some kids must conceal and carry every toy to the opposite corner of their home. (Perhaps marking their territory…) This would lead to endless time spent hauling toys back from what my friend has called “Toy Soup.”

The last child really got the best of me. Some would say I was already worn down by the others, but I would like to disagree. He got the mom who finally understands that LEGO scenes that took hours to construct can not easily be pushed into a bin. I understand how to just sit and play. No cleaning. (Well – since I am big on honesty … perhaps a little itty-bitty bit of cleaning.)

Most of the time, I get into it. I ask questions and follow his lead. I listen to how he has characters interact and laugh at his zany story lines.

So, {GASP} maybe the MESS isn’t bad.

I believe that MESS stands for Making Each Second Special in our home!

We do pick up. We try our best not to practice for an episode of Hoarders. I proudly share with friends that I just love the new home design style at our home … you know the one … lived-in by a family of five, a hound dog and a fish. (I blame most of the mess on the fish – Boo-Boo Wonder just can’t pick up at all!)

SO WHAT if the LEGOS are out, costumes are strung out on the floor and art supplies are used daily? I wouldn’t trade this MESS for anything.

I promise you that I am already dreading when high-imaginative play is a thing of the past in our own created-creative world.

What are you doing to embrace the MESS?  And what MESS is your style?

Here is an example of our youngest’s handiwork … but why a fire boat in the middle of the street?  

Seems like a great question for tomorrow!

LEGO City by our 4 year old son

As a BONUS for finishing this post and delaying any attention given to the MESS in your home, van, garage, and purse (because kids are equal-opportunity mess makers, am I right?), here is my favorite quote about raising kids and cleaning. I hope you remember this quote and that it makes you smile each time you pick up a plate, building blocks, a dolly or five, and if you are real lucky – stinky, sweaty socks.

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Kristin Wooldridge
My sense of self has deepened over the past five years and I have enjoyed sharing my experiences, reflections and thoughts on life with my readers for the past two years at Boldly Blessed. A lot of my posts are relatable during this season of searching for more and seeing ourselves as not only moms, but as women. I am committed to being the real version of myself and knowing that I am a work in progress. I believe everyone is boldly blessed, but that we need to recognize our innate giftedness in order to receive those blessings. Moms can easily support their children’s talents, but we also need to nurture how amazing we are individually and collectively as women. I have three children (son, 10 1/2; daughter, 8; and son, 4), I have been the MOPS@2BC executive ministry leader for the past seven years, and I am pursuing my Masters of Divinity in the CREATE program at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. I have always lived in the Kansas City area, but I love to travel and recently spent a week in India. I grew up by Smithville Lake, went to college in Liberty, lived in KC and now reside in Liberty. I have been married fourteen years to my William Jewell College sweetheart. My life hasn’t always been perfect as the paragraphs above make it seem. (That is what is great about highlight reels!) I have traveled through harder times and found strength, community and support in the midst of chaos, loneliness and the great unknown. I am excited to share this community with you! You can follow my personal blog: www.boldlyblessed.com

3 COMMENTS

  1. My grandma had a magnet on her fridge that said “A clean house is a sign on a misspent life.” Could not agree more!

  2. I like to refer to it as “a beautiful mess”. I wrote about this very thing on my blog about a month ago. My house is rarely clean, and I can’t promise you’ll find a single surface without goldfish crackers, but I won’t apologize, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Because for every mess that leave untouched, I’m adding precious memories to our lives. Well said, Kristin.

  3. Love this! I know I am not going to look back and say, “I just love my memories of a clean and clutter-free house”! I also know that one day, in the much too near future, I will long to have these messy days back! Thank you for bringing this to life. I often send Cali pictures of my beautiful mess…maybe I should start sending them to you, too!

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