To The Mamas Who Clean Up Messes for a Living

cleaning up messes in motherhood

Does it ever feel like every day is Groundhog’s Day? You peak out from your hole to find the same messes as yesterday, the same laundry list, the endless to-dos.

So often I start head on into my tasks at hand, disheartened that none of my efforts last for more than a few minutes.  Clothes and kids get dirty again, messes that just were cleaned up are now covering the floor, meals need made {again and again}. Job security, Mamas.

Raise your hand if you ever feel frustrated, overwhelmed, unappreciated, discouraged? {Me! Me! Me!}

Sometimes it’s easy to become resentful to the mess-makers in your house after you’ve picked up the 8th pair of socks off the floor, your back hurts from wiping up another milk spill, the puzzles have turned into one giant heap of a hundred pieces, and bedtime is still hours away. {Mom, I owe you. I mean I really, really owe you. Thank you.}

Sometimes they become interruptions to the tasks at hand.  “No I cannot play a game with you right now, Timmy. Can you not see this dirty floor that needs vacuumed?”

overbearing task of motherhood

I love this quote from Parenting Wild Things. These are the children that fill your home for just a short moment, who want to be near you, who in their messiness need you.  Does our attitude reflect that they are more than tasks and mess-makers?   

Perhaps the messes in our homes can remind us of the own messes we’ve made in our lives. The crushed Cheerios on the floor are so insignificant in comparison to some of the messes I’ve made in my own life. Yet I have a Heavenly Father who has loved me through the mess, and cleansed me of all of my unrighteousness.

Let’s remember we aren’t doing this motherhood gig for the accolades, the recognition, the perks, the credit, or the appreciation. It’s so much bigger than what we can make it out to be on our daily schedules. In the midst of messy floors we are impressing little lives.

That is no small “to-do” task, Mamas.  Close your eyes to the mess for a moment and take in this blessed opportunity, because it’s fleeting.   

Stop. Deep Breath. Inhale some perspective.

Let’s not define our days by the tasks we’ve completed, but by the moments that truly mattered in raising our children.