I spent about 6 hours on the house today, a couple of them WITH my six-year-old twins, and four (thanks to MY twin sister) without my little ones. It’s amazing what kind of house work you can get done when you are actually HOME for a few hours in a row.
As I vacuumed under beds, and dressers, and emptied drawers, and de-cluttered counter tops, I found some pretty interesting stuff in my kids’ rooms.
In Gloria’s room (Gloria is 6), I was putting clothes away, and found a drawer so over-crammed, I could hardly open it. And in there were some great blessings – stinky socks, and a filthy shirt, all mixed in with the “clean” clothes. And I found a pair of her brother’s underwear in that same drawer.
In Kylie’s room (Kylie is 13), I was re-arranging her chaos and going through baskets, and clearing some space on her desk and I found: a huge Hershey’s kiss and some other candy (I ate half of her Sour Patches); lots of items under her desk – grocery bag, hair clips, a tiny bit of dust; and I found about 25 different beauty supplies – lotions, powder, smell good spray, and more.
In Dalton’s room (Dalton is 6), I was making his bed and found 8 stuffed animals wedged in between his bed and his wall, his tooth fairy pillow made by Nana, and I also found 3 EMPTY drawers. I guess I still need to unpack his bag from vacation – AND put all that laundry away.
In Wil’s room (Wil is 14), I walked in, and could hardly get past the drum set, two sleeping bags, laundry baskets, and more. But I did find two of my bathroom mats way back in the corner. I did not get to work too much longer in his room. But he can tackle it when he gets to it.
In Davis’ room (Davis is 11), I accomplished a lot. I found clothes in baskets under his bed, hand me downs we had been waiting on, and some extra school suprises as well. I also found lots of too small clothes, so now Dalton’s hand me down stack is growing. And I found all in one backpack (likely his last day of school back pack) – five shirts, one pair of pants, and one pair of shorts, AND all of his last week of school work. His room was fun!
Two of my favorite things I found were Gloria’s adoption bear that she got from the judge on her adoption day. And I found Davis’ red and white bunny, his comrade since he was a baby. I joked with him the other day, that “Bunny Bunny” should be there with him on his wedding day, and on his wedding night. He grinned.
I LOVE MY KIDS and today I chose to LOVE their stuff. It’s amazing what a little joy, some time to actually clean, and two little six-year olds can get done in one house. One day, and I really do try to remember this, I won’t have any “kid” stuff to step over, put away, clean, or tell them to put away. With my oldest heading to high school this coming Fall, I really…really…really try to remember the gift that THIS season is.
That ‘remembering’ is what I found in my kids’ rooms today. Remembering that in 5 years, I will have two off to college, one a senior in high school, and two starting middle school. Add 5 more years, and they will be 24, 23, 21 and 16-year-old twins!
I pray these years slow down and that I ‘remember’ each day to stop and let time stand still – if only for a moment of ‘remembering’.
What ‘rememberings’ are you enjoying today? How are you choosing to treasure the season of life you are in right now?