Let it be said

When you look around my life you might find a spotless house, decorated with good taste, clean children, fashionably clothed and well behaved, cute crafts everywhere, laundry always done, toys always put away and lovely aromas of beautiful yummy masterpieces cooking in the kitchen. And of course myself showered, dressed (also very fashionably) make up done, hair done all poised and confident, ready for anything!

Well that's what you might see, but then again maybe not. Actually there's a very slim chance of you seeing any of that. For although I get up and earnestly keep myself very busy all day long doing everything I can think of to be a good wife, mother, home maker and friend... when night comes and I look around at the fruits of my day, (sigh) well the cold hard truth is they look more like unorganized chaos.

Laundry dutifully started and with great intentions of this time getting from start to finish in one single day... still folded on the floor from several days ago. But wait, helpful hands and feet have not let it lay there in peace. No. Now it's just a pile of once clean clothes mingled with a random shirt here or there that was stripped off of a busy son on his way in from the back yard, dirty and of course not suitable to wear anymore.

Dirty diapers left in a pile, never quite making it to the garbage. Toys and games strewn from one end of the house to the other. Once again lunch will just be sandwiches, and dinner, well hamburger helper will have to do. My 'poised and ready self' consisting of sweats and T-shirt hair pulled hastily into a ponytail and yesterdays makeup still smearing around my eyes.

And the children, oh the children! The clothes that were clean 15 minutes ago now have a variety of things clinging to them. Dust and dirt, yogurt, apple juice, the remains of a strawberry, chocolate, don't forget to change that dirty diaper again...too busy to hold still the dirty little faces rush off in search of the next adventure, messy hair flying atop their heads.

I can't keep up and before I know it the day is gone.

There are so many things that I'd like to be. So many talents I'd like to have. I would love to have the energy and ability to somehow master a lifestyle that constantly evades me! And try as I might to become the person in my picture perfect imagination, well, I always fall short. It's such a depressing feeling sometimes!

It's about the time that I'm looking around the house at my many many evidences of yet another day full of failures that K.C. comes and gently reminds me.

"The laundry was left laying there because you stopped working to play with the kids."
"Food on faces is evidence of well fed happy children."
"The toys are reminders of happy times playing and laughing."
"When I look around our home (which he tells me isn't as bad as I seem to think it is) I don't see failures. I see evidences of busy happy people leading happy lives."

So my friends. It may not be said of me that I'm a great home maker. It may not be said that my children are always clean and well dressed. It may not be said that I am fashionable or trendy or that my home is always clean.

But I hope that if there is something to say that it can be said of me that I love my children. That I would do anything for my family and that we have made some wonderful memories as we have laughed, worked and played together.

So let it be said that my joy is my family, my life is my husband and folding laundry will just have to wait because I've got some memories to make!