I've been thinking a lot about home lately. "Home is where the heart is." (or wherever your household goods are delivered!) We are in the process of getting our house in order; ready to be packed up this April. We have A LOT of crap. (future posts on that) But this all is more in the category of your "house or apartment". Home really is a state of mind, feeling or sense of being. Home is where you feel safe, home is your sanctuary, a hide-away from the world. And I think it is one of the things I protect most. When I get overwhelmed by mess or chaos in the house, I have to remind myself to take a step back. Then I ask myself this these questions, "Are my kids happy? Am I happy? Is this going to matter in the eternities?" If the answers are "Yes, yes and no." then everything o-kizzay. I actually have two quotes today. The other is from a book (that is no longer in print) called "Families are Forever . . . if I can just get through today." By Janice Madsen Weinheimer. She had 9 children; a girl, twins (boy & girl), twins (boy & girl), triplets (3 girls) and then 1 girl. And the book is generally about her tips and tricks to raising a large family. This is one quote that I call to mind frequently. When she was overwhelmed by the mess and temporal trials, she would tell herself,
"You can't take this clean house with you when you die."
That's right. When your children are grown and gone, will they remember if the Tupperware was organized or that you took the time to have family game night or a movie just because? Will they remember that their underwear was ironed and folded? (although i don't know in which dimension that would EVER be a reality) Or that they felt cherished, loved & safe? Think about it.
*this last summer's family picture, NOT my favorite, but everyone else looks great.
2 comments:
Isn't that so true?! Remind of it later, will you? Thanks for this post! (That book sounds like a great read!)
I agree. While I get frazzled by a chaotic house - and I do! (psychological impact of being raised by neat freaks) - my house is usually chaos. I have to stop and remind myself why, and usually the answer involves the kids. Not only, as you say, because time with them more important. The kids' rooms are a disaster! But, there are good reasons for it. I do not throw/clean out their belongings. Old clothes, toys, etc. are their responsibility - I do help, but it is up to them to put things in the charity box. Finding their things is their responsibility - want to play with something? Where'd you put it? Want to have a neat place to play? What should we do? As they get older, I will expect more neatness, but right now, I think learning responsibility and pride (in doing it themselves) is much more important.
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