Wednesday, January 14, 2015

This Marvelous Mess

Everywhere I turn, I see a mess.

There is a pile of shoes by the front door, cast off haphazardly the very second my children enter the house. 

There are coats and backpacks strewn about the living room carelessly tossed aside yet again.

There are dishes piled high in the sink taunting me and a dishwasher waiting impatiently to be unloaded.

There are stacks of folded laundry just begging to be put away and heaps more laundry anxiously awaiting a wash.

There are beds left unmade and crumbs dropped on the floor that I try to overlook. Dust gathers on ceiling fans and fingerprints are scattered on the windows. I see papers - homework, bills, junk mail - littering almost every table in my house.

I am a person who thrives on order and organization. Sometimes, when I look at these messes, I feel so incredibly exasperated. Over and over, I straighten and scrub. Over and over, the messes reappear almost instantly. Despite my best efforts, I cannot get ahead of the clutter and mayhem. Most days, it drives me crazy. 

If I take a breath and step back for a moment, though, I remember that these messes represent all that is wonderful in my life. In the evening, when all is quiet and I finally sit down to relax, I look around at the chaos that lingers and recall all the mess represents.  

The shoes remind me of the feet that have run and played all day; the feet that carried them to school and safely home again; the feet that used to be so tiny, but now almost match my own.

The coats remind me that we are all safe and warm. The backpacks signify how much they have learned and grown as the years have flown by so swiftly. Wasn't it just yesterday that I was teaching them to sing their ABC's?

The dishes and crumbs help me to remember that we are fortunate to have food on our table; that I am lucky to put my children to sleep with full bellies each night when so many parents struggle to meet the most basic needs of their little ones.

The laundry is another symbol of our blessings; a reminder that we are warm and able to provide for their most fundamental requirements; a reminder to be thankful because we have much when many have so little.

Every fingerprint is a memory smudged into my heart reminding me how it felt to hold their tiny hands and how it still feels to be wrapped in their embrace.  

The beds are where my sweet angels rest their precious heads each night; where they keep their most prized stuffed animal possessions; where they dream and, sometimes, where they cry; where they begin and end each day.  

If I let them, these messes get under my skin. That's when I know I have lost sight of my blessings. When I am overwhelmed by the clutter and chaos of life, I have to look harder, but, if I try, I can still find them - the love and blessings hidden deep within this marvelous, wonderful, beautiful mess. And, I wouldn't have it any other way.    



23 comments:

Tricia at Raising Humans said...

What a lovely shift in perspective!

Janine Huldie said...

I love this and need to tell myself so much of this about daily messes here, too 😉

Marcia Shaw Wyatt said...

You've given "mess" a whole new meaning ... and it's absolutely beautiful, Lisa. Awesome post and thank you for making me think and give thanks once again for the people in my life who also create messes. :)

Dana said...

This is beautiful, Lisa. Really. I try to remind myself to appreciate the mess, because there won't be one once my kids are off to college. And I'll miss it, I know.

Btw, you should definitely submit this somewhere :)

MamaRabia said...

Just beautiful, Lisa. I have many, many messes at my house as well. I will be looking at them in a different light now. :)

Tamara Bowman said...

I want this so badly I can taste it! Well I told Bev and Rabia that I would go pretty easily through about $3,000 on two lenses. Then I'd go sundress shopping at Anthropologie because I can't afford them in "real life" but this is my dream.
I'd go crazy in Target too! And Whole Foods.

Charlene said...

Love this! I will definitely be looking at my 'mess' in another way, a more positive way thanks to you - although it may be brief before I frantically clean it all up before my partner gets home from work or a visitor coming over in 10 minutes! Thanks Lisa!

Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom said...

Awww, this is beautiful Lisa. I love that you can see through the messes and see the blessings. Thank you for that beautiful reminder.


Wishing you a lovely day.
xoxo

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

I need the reminder, too!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

You're welcome! :-)

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Thanks, Dana! I have to remind myself often as well.

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

:-) I don't always see them this way, but I try.

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

I do the same thing! I try to look at it through this lens, but admit that often I don't.

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Thanks, Jennifer!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Just submitted it to Mamalode - we'll see! :-)

Meredith said...

Oh my gosh. i can totally relate to this one. I feel so claustrophobic sometimes by the mess too. But, you're absolutely right. When you take a step back and try to count your blessings, it's easier to tolerate. :)

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Yes! I just need to do if more often! :-)

Tarana said...

Messes drive me mad too, but I'm learning to 'appreciate' them in a way!

BecominNeurotic said...

This is beautiful! And just the reminder I needed to look for the beauty underneath the chaos. Thank you!

lindsay Klein said...

beautiful shift of looking at things! glass half full!

Chris Carter said...

Ah... love how you viewed your motherhood mess!!! Just beautiful, Lisa!

TheMissusV said...

Love this! Yep it can be messy but it means we are really LIVING! It's hard to imagine a truly happy family in a magazine like house!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

I almost put Whole Foods on my list! It would be #11. I would love to go there and buy all my groceries - the good stuff.

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