A Lesson In Motherhood

This morning I was relishing a few moments of quiet before the demands of the day began. Around the 30 minute mark I emerged from my bedroom to the shouts of my children.

"Stop it boys!" Mackenzie was yelling. "No! Don't do that!"

I came into the scene as Mackenzie came towards me with hands on hips. "Mama! I woke up and started cleaning this WHOLE house for you and the boys are messing EVERYTHING up!" She was very frustrated indeed.

After speaking to the boys, I pulled Mackenzie aside. "Mackenzie, thank you so much for cleaning for me. It is such a nice surprise to wake up to a clean house! You did an excellent job," I encouraged. "I know how hard it is to clean this house. Now you understand why I get frustrated sometimes when you guys just leave your things out instead of picking them up." Mackenzie nodded in perfect understanding. I could tell that she had seen the light, so I added, "You know I usually wait until the boys are napping or asleep for the night before I clean up."

She was easily appeased. "Could you tell me when they are going to nap so I can do it again?"

I was amazed at this burst of organization and didn't want to squash it with the reality that no matter how hard she tried, or how clean she got it, it would be messed up the minute the boys entered the scene. It's one of the most frustrating parts of motherhood to me. Every day is a constant battle to try to reach a goal that often seems completely unreachable. Even when you think you see the end, something always seems to happen that sets you further back than where you started. It's an endless cycle that I have to mentally fight by telling myself over and over again, "I have three small kids. My house will never be perfectly in order."

Nap time came and went and Mackenzie's cleaning urge got sidetracked by an opportunity to go out for ice cream with her Daddy. I didn't say anything because Daddy time is much more important and a rare commodity during this house building phase. While they were out, I cleaned the bathrooms.

Tonight, after I sang to her and tucked her in, she whispered in a tired voice, "Mama, I'm going to sleep in a little tomorrow but when I wake up, I'm going to work as hard as I can to get this house clean again." Her sweet resolve and desire to serve melted my heart.

You know what Mackenzie? I will too.