Wordful Wednesday

I don't craft, I don't sew, I know nothing about painting.  What I can do, however, is sit at 

the kitchen table with my daughters, surround them with all the crayons, markers, 

magazine clippings, and glitter I can find, and let them go.  I can pour myself a cup of tea, 

read a book between helping them cut and paste, and take lots of photos of these 

precious moments.  There came a time in my mothering journey where I let go of the idea 

of being the Martha Stewart mom, that's just not me.  My Pinterest boards are full of 

recipes and home DIY projects, things I know I will actually be able to accomplish 

without burning a hole in my hand with a glue hand that I don't know how to use.  I'm 

not disappointed by that reality or even embarrassed by it: how liberating!  I'm a 

"throw everything on the kitchen table and make some shit out of it" kind of mom.  

Those walls I used to obsess over being perfectly cleaned and maintained: they are 

now covered in hand prints and psychedelic colored Barbies.  The floors I used to 

vacuum almost daily, stressing over stains and scratches: they are now littered with 

Cheerios and unmentionable debris.  I read a quote today that read "Excuse the mess, 

the children are busy making memories": this really sums it all up.  Make lots of messes, 

little girls.  Color outside the lines and break a few rules now and then.  I can't teach you how 

to knit or make pom poms out of paper, but I can teach you how to laugh and sing and 

dance like no one is watching.  That's the kind of mom I am, the kind of mom you 

have inspired me to be.