Tuesday 8 May 2012

Reflections on a Floor Full of Legos

As I lie on the floor planning to take a rest or nap, unable to lie on the couch because I don't want to move the Legos the boys have put there, another Lego guy stares me in the face. Ugh... should I get up and pick all these things up?

I face the battle I'm sure any stay at home mom faces - or any mom for that matter - the battle to keep the house clean. It's a losing battle on most days for sure. I clean the table. The boys are home for 30 min, and the table is a mess again. I sweep the floor. One meal or snack later, and it looks like it's never been done. I'm trying to teach the boys how to pick up after themselves. Most of the time, they still require reminders and perhaps a little nagging before they do it, and sometimes the hassle of that is not worth it, so the Legos stay on the couch or on the floor. That's how it is today.

But why is it so important to me that I keep the house clean? Besides the obvious - that it's more pleasant to eat on a clean table off of clean dishes, or that it needs to be done eventually, so I might as well stay on top of it. But why have I become so compulsive about it? Could it be that I have defined myself too much by how clean my house is, judging the job I am doing by how few dishes are in the sink? Could I be looking for that pat on the back from my husband or kids, saying how good I am at being a stay at home mom? Perhaps someday the kids will come home and say, "Mom, good job getting that stain off the white countertop" or "Wow, the bathroom sure is clean this afternoon." Perhaps not.





No, I'm not going to pick up that Lego guy. Instead I am going to lie here and rest, reflecting on how blessed I am to have two beautiful boys who love playing with their Legos. I'm going to reflect on how each of the things lying around our home hold some kind of value in the lives of the people I love. I'm going to look around the house when I get up and think about how blessed I am to have a family, to have people whom I love and who love me in return, even if they mess up this house I am trying to keep clean, on a daily basis.




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