Currently on my coffee table are the following items: a miniature tea party set, a toy gun, mail, a rented DVD, an empty glass, a pad of paper, a doll's hair curler, a photo card reader, a Chess piece, a pen, a guitar pick, a Disney princess storybook, a coffee mug, a ponytail holder, a couple of safety pins, a stack of birthday notes from my husband to me, a candle (the only thing that's actually supposed to be on the table), a cell phone, a guitar capo, a laptop and reading glasses (until a few minutes ago), a set of horse stamps and a stamp pad, change, a remote control, a tube of pretend lipstick, and Abe Lincoln's log cabin made out of a milk carton. Yes, we have a fairly large coffee table.
As my gaze and thoughts were drawn to this scene, I suppressed the initial thought (not difficult to do) of how much I need to clean my house and instead thought about how these various items represent the bits and pieces of our family's life. The items are colorful and interesting. And a bit random. They have been used and reused. Some handled with care; others not so much. They represent our work, our play, and our hobbies--things we love.
I've been told that 20 years from now, I can have a clean house if I want to. But for now, with three young children, that's just not a likely reality. We don't live like pigs, but our house is generally messy most of the time. But it's because we live in our house. We enjoy ourselves and our time together. Plus, my husband made me promise him when we first got married that our house would look and feel lived-in and not like a museum.
Done.
8 comments:
We have files for working on taxes, a page-a-day calendar with pictures of cats, a box of kleenex, a Harry Potter book, two bionicles, and a small collection of bouncey balls... Thank you for this blessing of a post, that gives permission not only to leave our coffee table as it is but to celebrate all that it stands for!
Carrie, I want to print this out and put it somewhere I will see it every day. I need to be reminded of this every day! Thank you! Like a friend of mine said, if someone "pops in" for a visit and finds a messy house, they will know that happy kids live there. Why have toys if they aren't played with? (And scattered around the house, of course!)
That is hilarious & quite a list. I could probably manage to fit all of that onto the lamp table by my bed or the chair in the corner in my bedroom. I'm really good at piles. Not sure how Baine's going to survive it when there are children in the picture adding to it!
Glad you found a moment of rest, acceptance, and even gratitude when you looked at the coffee table. I particularly like your observation of the colors!
You are a wise young woman, Carrie. And it sounds like Kevin is a wise young man. He helped things get started off on the right foot. If I could have a do-over, I'd "sort of" clean house once every month or two and I'd play with my children every day. I can clean house anytime I want now and, you know, I just don't want to. But it surely is quiet...
'Sorry, I didn't mean that to be anonymous.
Kevin must have known you pretty well by then. You two are such a great match! Maybe some day we can get all our kids together to play, before they're all grown up!
This is one of my favorite things that you have written. Let's enjoy what we have while we have it.
btw, the dvds on the table seem to be multiplying somehow.....
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