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Monday, March 23, 2015

Embracing My Beautiful Mess

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SweepTheMess #CollectiveBias


"Mommy! We made mud soup! Come see our mud soup!"

He's way more excited about this than I am, but I stand up from my lawn chair on the deck and take his hand as he drags me down the stairs and to the pile of dirt, sticks, and wet grass that he and his sister have assembled.

There is mud everywhere. Literally. Covering their faces, up their noses, and between the surface of each and every fingernail. They beam at me, so thrilled to be outside in the fresh air - away from the confines of our house and all its toys, which lost their appeal back in mid-January when the lack of sunshine threatened to drive all of us mad.


"Do you want a taste, Mama? Mud soup is deeeeeee-licious!"

The bright sun is good for my heart, too. On a bleak day in January, I might have sighed with impatience at the sight of food scattered on the floor or the pieces of twenty puzzles dumped in one heap or snow trampled all over the carpet. But today? It's okay. This sort of mess isn't so bad. It's a beautiful mess, and it's our mess...and I kind of secretly love it.


Since the arrival of warmer weather, I've learned a couple of things. First, that my kids are going to literally live outside until it snows again. Second, that there is going to be a lot of dirt and grime covering just about every surface of my home. I've actually lost track of how many times I've swept the kitchen floor with my O-Cedar Angler Broom this week. And I pulled out the vacuum of my own free will last night. My whole family may or may not have looked at me like I was some sort of lunatic. Like, who is this woman and where did this strange noisy machine appear from?


My helpers are eager today. They spend every waking moment asking "can I help?" or "what can I do, mommy?" This isn't going to last forever. In a few years, I'm going to have teenagers on my hands - and at that point, they (probably) won't be responsible for tracking mud into the house thirteen times in one day. They'll remember to take their shoes off at the door (most of the time), they'll brush dust off their jeans, and they'll hopefully have a decent grasp at what it means to throw away their own trash. They'll be semi-responsible young people, on their way to adulthood. But at the same time, they'll be a little more interested in their friends than their mom who may or may not be wearing the same shirt as yesterday. They'll ask me what I will do for them - not what they can do for me.


I don't want to reach those years - not so far away - and look back at today with a longing that I had smiled instead of scowled, chased instead of chided, or tickled instead of turning on the television.


I know it's inevitable to some degree. Kids grow up - regardless of how hard we mamas hang onto every little scrap of childhood that we can. But maybe...just maybe, if I let them help me now - every time - there's a greater likelihood that in ten years, they'll still want to spend time with me. And while making mud soup may be a little beyond their comfort level, I'll be down for a muddy water fight. I call dibs on the hose.


How are you celebrating the beautiful mess in your life?

O-Cedar "A Beautiful Mess" Giveaway

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. For more information, you can read my Disclosure Policy.  

33 comments:

  1. Great thoughts on embracing these moments with little ones. I think my kids make a new disaster daily... some are easier to clean than others. But when I look at my youngest and then to my oldest, I am struck by how quickly it all passes and everything changes. My hats off to you for enjoying these moments. #client

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    1. I'm the same way...lately, it's hitting me that my four year old is never going to do some of his quirky little toddler things again and I almost can't handle it. I don't always succeed, but I am trying to enjoy all the messy moments!

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  2. Your home so looks like my home and I've recently had to realize that one day I will miss these messes. I'm trying to love every moment - messes and all - because messes will always be there but kids won't!

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    1. It's so hard to ALWAYS remember this. Like, even today...a day after writing this, I think I might go crazy with the mess in my house. It's definitely a learning process.

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  3. Though the end result of the video was cool (and beautiful), I don't think I could work with someone else's dust and dirt. I can barely handle my own! Between two kids and two dogs, we've got our share of gross!

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    1. Yeah...somehow your OWN dust and grime is better than anyone else's! :)

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  4. I think it's far more important to enjoy life than stress out over things like a little mess or laundry not put away. We are only young once and so are our kids!

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  5. What a wonderful message and inspiring idea! I need to try this more often. :)

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  6. That's a great message to embrace the moments that we have with the kids. They do grow up so fast.

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  7. My kids are a disaster! ;) I don't mind their messes as long as they help me clean it up! The angled broom is perfect for those messes.

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  8. I take care of my little grandchildren during the work week so I have plenty of beautiful messes. They are worth the mess - love them so much!

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    1. Aww, that's awesome. My mom watches my kids for me a lot, too. :)

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  9. When the floors are empty of dirty feet and mud, we'll miss it. As long as you have a good broom handy, enjoy the mess!

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  10. I couldn't agree with you more! Sometimes, you have embrace the messes that they make. :)

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    1. The mess they made today was crazy. Trying to keep this logic in the front of my mind all the time, but it's hard!

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  11. I think I celebrate life's beautiful messes by just sitting back and enjoying the little moments. Everything is better that way.

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  12. I've always been told ... it's just stuff. People matter not things :) I tell myself every time I see another mess.

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  13. Our spring messes usually involve grass and flowers instead of mud. I would actually welcome mud because at least then I could rinse the kids off.

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    1. Hahaha! Love it. I do appreciate that I can just stick them in the bathtub after they come in from playing in the mud!

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  14. What a great attitude becuase it can easily bog you down when they are little. Thanks for the reminder!

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    1. It is so easy to get lost in the "little years" - but they are precious times!

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  15. Having those teenagers I'll tell you they don't always remember to pick up. I use to have a leave the mess philosophy but it just taught my boys that messy was okay so now I'm trying to clean a lot more. I don't want them living messy all the time. Finding the perfect middle is the hard part. I've learned teaching them to sweep help though lol

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  16. We have 2 kids who love to not clean up after themselves as well as 3 cats, so this broom would truly come in handy for our home, especially with a baby coming soon.

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  17. we live on a farm and their is always someone with things on their boots and this broom sounds like it would clean my floors great

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