The Messes of Motherhood | Shifting Priorities

Note: This post contains affiliate links. This means if you click on one of them, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. For more information, read my full disclosure. 

A Day of Messes

I just sidestepped a duplo block. I’ll deal with that later. The messes abound today. There is a full train track in the corner of the room with de-railed trains all around. A tub of legos sits on the table with lego pieces scattered on the floor. I remind myself not to step between the couch and the coffee table. 

There’s a pasta sensory bin in the middle of the kitchen table. Trucks, cars, scoops, and randomly added toys strewn about both inside and outside of the bin. It’s somewhat contained, right? It’s good child entertainment. I can push it aside when it’s time for dinner.

I finally caved and brought down the Duplo brand marble run. The one that I hate and that they love. I hate it because you look at it wrong and it falls apart. It’s a young children’s toy. Who designed this thing that falls apart from a whisper. Someone who wants moms pulling their hair out and plotting things.

I gently “clear” the space at my feet around my chair. I settle in for some quiet, me-time. Bible study, Youtube, a nap, some writing. Anything that lets me decompress.

Building a New Place

Toys are forgotten. The couch has been deconstructed and redesigned. The only rule: the seat cushions always stay put. The Nugget Couch and the floor pillows have found their use in constructing one large fort, with separate spaces for each boy. They sometimes prefer their distance.

I try not to move too much, make too much noise, or make direct eye contact. They are playing and enjoying themselves, without making me do all the work. I call it a win.

Hose them Down

The day is hot, and the boys are energetic. I love playing and drawing with chalk. I don’t love that they insist on destroying my designs. Today we embraced both. My task: draw a giant rainbow. Their task: soak it with water and run through it, making a mess. It’s actually pretty fun. I’ll hose us all down later, the concrete included.

Motherhood Messes

I’ve never been horribly afraid of messes. One of my favorite memories from childhood is playing on the giant dirt mound at my best friend’s house. We loved that dirt pile. I’m also into arts and crafts, so I know m way around messy things. Still, I had to shift my views and priorities when I became a mother.

I often find myself trying to motivate my kids to be messy. Not because I want something to clean up, but because I don’t want them to be scared of being dirty or messy in the right situations. There’s a lot of dirt and mud in the world, and it’s great to shove your hands in it without pause. I don’t want them scared of exploring, and learning. Sometimes that requires getting quite dirty. Hard work also often requires getting dirty. So it’s something that I actively think about, a lot.

Motherhood has also made me think more about shifting priorities. Sometimes house chores, or other activities, need to take a back seat to other things. Maybe it’s more important that I’m out stomping in the mud with my kids today, than it is that that laundry gets put away. My body might be screaming for rest, and it’s okay to focus on that instead of the toys strewn about the room.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a nice, clean, home. Sometimes my sanity really needs it, too. But it’s not always the priority of the day. As long as I can hit reset on seeing my floors here and there, I can also enjoy the chaos and clutter that is my children playing, learning, and exploring. It’s all a part of the little pieces that come together to make our family and our home, ours.

This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale—an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in this series “Make A Mess”.