Oh the Constant Reminders

My house is a mess. I don't mean a small mess with shoes in the living room and a few dishes in the sink.....I mean our whole wardrobe is strewn about the living room, books on the floor and coffee table, purses and coats on the couch, mail strung everywhere, dishes all over the counters and sink and stove, and the list goes on and on. Don't ask me the last time I dusted or vacuumed. Don't ask me the last time I cleaned the bathrooms. Don't ask me the last time I mopped and really deep-cleaned the kitchen. It's filthy, it's gross, and it's utterly embarrassing. Ugh, how can I live like this?! It's disgusting!

Last month when my visiting teacher came over she expressed her feelings on this particular matter and it has stuck with me ever since: "You know I went over to such and such house and they have all these kids but yet I've never seen a more perfectly, immaculate house. There's no dust, no stray dirt in the corners, the carpet is always freshly vacuumed, the bathroom smells like a tropical paradise, you could eat off the kitchen counters and see your reflection on the floor, etc. etc. But while I was thinking and trying to resolve my will to that kind of dedication I thought to myself, you know I really want to spend time with my last baby and rock her and play with her and watch her grow up. I want to play soccer and baseball outside with my oldest and help my other two with their reading and numbers. If I spend all this time cleaning and making sure my house is perfect as well, I'll never get to watch my kids grow up. I'll never get to see when ______ starts crawling or when ______ starts to read. So I decided I can live with a somewhat messy house because it's worth it and I'll never regret that decision."

Last night my mom and sister in-law came over to my despicably dirty house. I was mortified! Since I work full time and run around like crazy with other projects, the only time I have to clean is on the weekends. Well, my brother and sister were out of town so I watched their kids over the weekend, thus I had no time to clean. I was planning on tackling the work before Lance and I had FHE on Monday but then Lance's sister came to town for FHE and dinner. The cleaning keeps getting put off further and further down the road. Last night after my mom and sister in-law left, I was really embarrassed but then I thought about the things I would have sacrificed to have a cleaner home: I wouldn't have babysat the kids and heard Devin excitedly say when he woke up,"Look Becky it's getting light outside! That means the earth is moving and the sun is coming up." I wouldn't have had dinner with Lance's family and seen little Sydnee shove pees in her mouth at a record rate nor heard Sage tell me how excited she is that she's starting to read. I wouldn't have had my mom and sister over to make jewelry, etc. The trade off is worth it to me. Call me lazy with mixed up priorities but I'm not Wonder Woman nor Mr. Clean.