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.
