Embrace the Mess

I am not just talking about the day to day chaos of life with busy schedules-softball practice, gymnastics, homework, dinner…the list can go on. Nope…I am talking about actual messes…messy house, dirty dishes, messy clothes. Recently (after watching ALL of the episodes of “Nailed It” with my boys), my boys became interested in baking. If you have read my “About” page, you know that I have accepted that I am definitely NOT a creative, awesome baker type mom (super envious of those moms!). But, I am a mom who always looking for fun ways to be present and connect with my kiddos. So I continue to take interest in their interests. I began scrolling through Pinterest and pinning homemade cake and icing recipes (Exhibit A to the left).I bought the awesome mixer with the bowl and all of the attachments (the knock off brand of Kitchen Aid since raising three kids is so dang expensive). And we began our baking journey. We followed all of the directions (which is a new skill for me). We mixed the flour, eggs, and actual cocoa. We listened to Mumford and Sons while baking our little hearts away. We finally get the cake in the oven and the icing mixed. I look around at the kitchen, table, and floor now that I have a moment, and everything is insane. The kitchen was a complete mess. The table was a complete mess. The floor was a complete mess. And the three of us were…yep, you guessed it…a complete mess. Guess what else though…we were all laughing and singing and having a grand old time. And even though we followed all of the directions to the “T”,we soon found out that our wonderful cupcakes were very crunchy…with delicious egg shell bits in the batter. Needless to say, our cupcakes did not turn out anything like the Pinterest cupcakes (Exhibit B below).

Here’s the thing though. For just a couple of hours in my life, I was completely present with my boys. I wasn’t thinking about work. I wasn’t scrolling through Facebook. I wasn’t watching TV. I wasn’t on the phone or checking emails for work. I was 100% in the moment. And loving EVERY minute of it (aside from the clean up that is!). Too often, I dismiss the possibilities of these moments. They present themselves to me every single day. Too often, I take these moments for granted. Life is busy. Life is consumed with things that really do matter, and some that really don’t. My message to you…remember the things that matter and stop to take the time to actually NOTICE them. Make messes. And embrace every second of them! Taking in these moments is so much more enriching and joyful than the busy work we usually consume our time with, while these moments are passing us by (Exhibit C below).

Love, LJ