The kids were here.

My kids were here this past week.  My daughter and her husband (which is still hard to say because she still seems so young to me) were here.  My son, his girlfriend and roomate were here a lot too to see them.  For the first time this week, the towels are hung up in the bathroom.  The guest room bed is unmade.  There is a stocking on the floor that has to be my son-in-law's it's so big.  He's the only person that's been here that has a size 14 foot.  The dog keeps looking at me like I should make them appear again.  I wish I could.

I stopped worrying about how the house looked when they got here and just quietly picked up around them.  I think back to a story that my Mom told when my kids were young.  She came to my house when I just had Ryan and Amanda, they were probably 3 and 1.  My Mom was always a stickler for cleanliness but she walked in my messy house, with all the things laying around that would naturally be there with two small children, she saw me in the living room sitting on the floor playing with the kids.  What better thing could I be doing at this time, cleaning . . . or playing with the kids.  She appreciated my ability to look away from the mess and see the more important thing.  It was the very thing she taught even though she may not realize it, family is everything.  Love and protect your family with a passion.   

So now when my kids are adults, I don't worry so much about the house.  I clean when I have time, but I don't take away from my time with them.  They are back home now, I have the aftermath of cleaning and washing but think about the times we were together and the things we laughed at as I see the things they used.  Little pieces of them scattered throughout the house.  I'm so glad I have a place they can come home to and someone that will always be happy to see them come.