Keeping It Real

Recently, I've had several friends ask me how I do it all. The simple answer: I don't. Hence, scenes like this appear in my kitchen a little too often:
And this is not an uncommon sight in our family room:

Life happens. Last night I taught, and after a straight three and a half hours of class and the drive home in a rain storm, I just didn't have it in me to tackle the kitchen. Five minutes before it was time to leave, Evan went on a quest for his favorite ball, which necessitated a dump of the entire basket. Life happens. If I showed you my external brain right now, you would see I'm a couple of days behind--oops.

At the end of the day, I'm trying to be a kinder, gentler me--to myself. If it doesn't all get done today, it will tomorrow. As long as there is no imminent health risk and the kids feel loved, the rest doesn't really matter. No one will remember whether I got draft two in on Friday or Monday. No one will know that my dishes sat on the counter over night (unless I post it here). I don't want my kids to grow up and remember a frantic, exhausted Mommy. I also don't want them to grow up thinking life is always shiny and perfect. Sometimes, there are smudges and messes. It's what makes us appreciate the shininess.

So...I'm off to clean the kitchen, do some laundry, and then write like the wind. I'll do as much as I can, and then I'll pick the kids up and we'll go to the library, snuggle up with a book, and appreciate a few shiny moments before the mess creeps back in.