"Home."

Just so you know, if you are looking for a blog written by a perfectly organized woman who lives in a house with sparkling floors and empty countertops and organized closets and a tidy pantry and so on and so forth....I am sad to say you are in the wrong place!

The thing is, I try!  I really do! But I don't like cleaning.  It is not fun to me at all.  And though I am often inspired to organize a closet or section of my house, it seems that while I am doing it the rest of the house self-destructs.  It's really weird like that!

Plus, a lot of life goes on this home.  Kids run and play and dive bomb off the couch and make crafts and build with legos and "wincoln wogs" and race cars and dress dolls.  Friends are welcome to come to hang out and let their kids run around and join the madness too.  Out of town friends and family often join us for a day or a week at a time to visit.  Girls come over for Bible study and mentorship. My kitchen is daily utilized for meal prep and baking. Our music room is filled with instruments that are often played.  Books, cookbooks, and magazines are scattered around but are read and enjoyed.  And more.

So while I am always striving to do better in the organization department, I gotta admit I often fall short.

But the other evening, at a moment when my house was definitely not passing any sort of white glove inspection, my little boy and I were cuddling on my green chair and talking about our favorites as we often do.  It's such a great way for me to get inside my kids' little hearts and minds and create conversation.  After asking favorite foods, favorite colors, etc, I asked this question: "If you could spend a whole day at any place you wanted to, where would you pick?"  My daughter usually answers "Disney" to this sort of question, but the other evening, my son's answer was simply this...

"Home."

And that sincere little one word answer reminded me once again the importance of perspective.  Yes, my closets need some attention. Yes, my pantry and laundry room sometimes drive me crazy because I cannot keep up.  Yes, there is unfolded laundry in my bedroom. But those things will always be there.  However, my son will not always be four and my daughter will not always be five.  My husband and I will not always be dancing to the soundtrack of  laughter and little feet (while trying to avoid stepping on Legos!). There will be a day when sure, it will be much easier to keep things clean and tidy...but it will be much quieter, emptier, and different around here.  This is a season, one that I love despite the chaos, and I realize it is moving along very quickly.

So while I will continue to fight my uphill battle for organization, I will first and foremost continue striving with all my heart to make this house we share a warm place where people matter, where they are nurtured and loved,  and where they would want to spend the whole day simply because here they are home.

"Home is the nicest word there is." 

Laura Ingalls Wilder