Pages

1.26.2011

Embracing the Messy...

...for the sake of imagination. 
In one of the( many) ways having children has changed me for the better, I am learning if not embracing  the worth of a good, old-fashioned mess. 
Because the sparkle in these eyes makes me want to move Heaven and Earth, I am willing to let things happen under my control that stretch me. 
 Wild crafting.  Marker stained fingers.  Torn stickers.  Broken and un-organized crayon boxes.
 And I love it. 
Mostly because she loves it and I love her.
This girl is learning how to make a mess with the best of her mess-making abilities and I, her Mother, am learning how to enjoy said mess. 
To the best of my control-freak, neat-nick abilities :)
Because the days are fleeting when she'll no longer be able to sit in a basket with her babies.
And who am I to stand in the way of that?
One day my window-sills will be sparkly clean again and not littered with "sleeping" babies.
Two un-interrupted hours to play will be filled with questions like, "Can you take me to the mall?"  "Why is our house the most boring house of all my friends?" and "Can you tell Carter to get out of my room??" 
But not today.
Today, 2 hours were spent in wild imagination.
Making dinner...
Dragging everything out.
Sitting in tents.
Reading books and playing with puzzles.
Today her little light bulb of imagination shone bright. 
 And I drank it in. 
I enjoyed the constant chatter, the role-playing, the dancing, the giggling, the independence.
Today I embraced the mess for the sake of her budding imagination.
And this little smile made it all worth it, don't you think? 

In fact, I kind of can't wait for her to do it all over again tomorrow! 
Even if I'm the one who gets to clean it all up. 
This is personal growth in action friends.
Mine, not her's. 

Praising the Lord this afternoon for a house that is messy, and real, and lived in. and full of LIFE!! 
It's funny how life changes with the seasons. 
I used to love my house when it was pristine and spotless.
Now, not so much...

4 comments:

Ron and Peggy said...

Way to go Ava. You got that "makin' a mess" thing down pat.

Holly said...

Steph,
Girls are so messy and I have three of them! Triple the mess.. the craftiness it so fun and what they love best. I am all for it except when they ask me to paint at 7 A.M.:) Ava is a cutie!!

Toni :O) said...

She's SO adorable sitting in that basket with her babies...love it!I'm all for Clean Up, Clean Up...it's a song we always sang at the end of the day to pick up toys and put your house back together. Makes a huge impression later on as my kids like to be able to see their floors at night and this way, I don't step on anything and break what they might love! You can never start them too early and I loved having my house back at the days end. Seeing her in her jammies makes me want to go back home and put mine on though! LOL!

Erin said...

oh my goodness look at that mess ha ha ha :) looks like she was having a fun time!