What is a house for?
Perfectly curated shelves
Spotless floors
maybe
I’ve been in homes like these, and they are beautiful
It’s fun to surround ourselves with beauty and things that remind us of what we love
A clean and well organized home can be like a breath of fresh air
Sometimes I am tempted to edit our house into a blank slate. Getting rid of any signs of life. This may be because that’s how everyone else’s home seems online.
Some examples I see while scrolling get me thinking, “well, what is a home for anyway?”
Is it really just to do it up like a nice prize pig.
I don’t know about you, but I am NOT a vegetarian.
Are our homes really supposed to look like they do in magazines at all times?
I certainly like it sometimes, but I can’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t what a home was meant for in the first place.
Many important moments happen at home.
Honest conversations, meltdowns, celebrations, quality time and many memories…if we allow the space for them
I avoided a sand box for my son for a while because I didn’t want sand to be tracked inside. I knew how much he would like one, so I eventually broke and made Levi a makeshift sandbox with some things we had around the house.
He can spend up to an hour completely immersed in that sand box. And yes, he does spend the rest of the day tracking it inside.
Every other day I find myself sweeping up an incredible amount of sand by our back door. I repeat to myself, “a sand box was a good idea, a sand box gives my son fun memories (lol.)
I am a huge fan of landscaping and pretty gardens, but for now, my flower garden is adorned with backyard toys and the pair of shorts that my son ripped off while playing outside.
There are baskets by our door with miscellaneous objects as well as items that friends and family feel comfortable enough to forget when they come over.
The blankets that would look nice perfectly strewn over the couch are most often bunched up from recent use.
My entertainment center used to hold nice momentos.
Today it is full of toddler books and toys.
I love a candle burning on a coffee table. It just adds a sense of cozy to the room. But I also like my side table that holds our Yoto player and empty baby bottles during the day.
I used to aim for spotless countertops, but now there is usually a sticky plate full of the healthy snack my son took two bites of or ingredients and tools from the recipe that I wanted to try but didn’t have time to clean up.
My dining table is dotted with dried fingerpaint from either my son or me joining him because, why not?
I would love to have an HGTV style closet, but there usually are some clothes on the floor. Remnants of getting ready in a hurry for some special occasion. Remnants of a life being lived.
Maybe that’s what a home is for?
Not just display, not just performance, but the signs of lives at play
Of course, like any mother trying to prevent overstimulation, I do spend almost every night cleaning up the mess. Resetting things to a reasonable level. My hope is that rather than bitterly wiping down counters and tables, I do so knowing I am making space for tomorrow’s life waiting to be lived in this blessing we call a home.
