Mommy Wears Heels…

I remember when I was pregnant… I swore I would never have toys in my living room―because that would be “messy.”   I swore I would not be the type of parent whose house was a cluttered disaster and people had to step over toys to find a walkway to the kitchen.  The (finished) basement was where all toys, walkers, bouncers, etc. would be and everything would be nice and tidy.  I had an idea of the kind of parent I wanted to be.  I was disciplined and way too type A to fail. 

Well, that rule I had for myself lasted approx. one day.  I was too nervous to walk down the stairs with a newborn so I allowed the swing to stay in the living room―but I told myself it was only for a couple of weeks.  I started to stack the magazines I didn’t have time to read and added a couple of days on to the dusting/vacuuming schedule. Now, 8 months later, as I sit typing this, I glance up and see a jumperoo, a play mat, 2 teethers and a book all within 8 feet of me and my rug hasn’t been vacuumed in 1 ½ weeks.  So, needless to say, there were a few kinks in my plan. 

There was always an excuse from me; the basement was too cold, I didn’t want to put something away when I was going to need it later, I wanted to go to the park as a family instead of dust, etc.  At first, I felt like a failure. I wanted to be one of those mothers/wives I saw on TV. You know the one… always looked great, dinner was on the table every night at 6:30 and the house was immaculate. Unfortunately, that wasn’t me and it took me a few months to get “why” it wasn’t.

What I have learned is my “mess of a living room” doesn’t make me lazy or weak; it makes me like every other mother I know that isn’t a television character. I’d rather spend time with my child than throw him in his crib while I straighten the house. I doubt in 10 years you are going to remember one time you came to visit and my living room was cluttered. But I am going to remember the great day I spent at the park with my family instead of cleaning. I’m not perfect;  there are toys in my living room, a few dust bunnies under the sofa and my house isn’t at all in order but I’m OK with it.

Moral of this post: We all could use a little lighter load and a little less stress about the small things in life. This is what I love about parenting – your kids can unintentionally make you total liars and eat your words!