We were walking together as a family and as is usual when people see us all together, this man stopped us and asked if the children were all ours. As we began to speak with the man, he told us about a family that he knew that had a large number of children and how clean their house always was. He said that this family always had a spotless house with sparkling windows. To top it off, he said their floor was clean enough to eat off of.
This was quite impressive to say the least, especially since it reminded me of our house--at least a little. It's true that our windows rarely sparkle because they usually have quite a few fingerprints on them. It's also true that it certainly doesn't rate spotless--at least since we moved in. One thing he said,though, made me really relate to this amazing family that I have never met. This gentleman remarked that one could even eat off the floor in this house. I laughed to myself when he said this because people can often eat off the floor at my house also. Yep, there could even be a few cheerios there right now. Maybe even a Pepperidge Farm goldfish or two. If you get here at just the right time, you'll probably score some leftover birthday cake since we have so many birthdays around our home!
Over the years, I have discovered that each one of us has the same amount of time allotted to us. Some people use their time making their home spotless, others surf the internet or chat on facebook (shouldn't have said that one I guess...), and never take time to clean up the home. Others realize what this verse in Proverbs 14 says brings valuable insight into a proper perspective. If you don't have cows around, you will have a clean barn. However, remember that cows are valuable, so take your choice!
Children are like cows. They're messy and sometimes it even gets smellly; however, I would rather have a house full of priceless children than have a spotless house and none to be seen. Now back to the big family that had the spotless house. My best guess is that the gentleman had failing eyesight. Other than that, I would say that there could have been some misplaced priorities.
Today I took my children fishing with their grandparents. I had plans to get a lot of household things done, but grandparents won't always be around and neither will my kids. In the last few weeks, we have gone fishing three times and caught about 250 fish. Nothing will ever replace the memories we have made standing on the creek bank and watching my daughter continually yank her fish into the tree top while eagerly reeling it in. I also had time to have a picnic with my daughter back in the woods--just the two of us.
Friday, we enjoyed one of the privileges of homeschooling and cancelled school to go to the Discovery Place in Charlotte. On the way back we enjoyed 99 cent meals at IKEA (hint: families watching their budget should watch the restaurant specials at IKEA--we got 12 full size meals for 99 cents each).
Yes, you can probably find a snack on my floor tonight, but you can also see some smiling kids around my table. We don't have a spotless house, but we do have children and as of last week, we also have a cow, but that's another story for another day. Thanks to my sister in law, for keeping my cow at her house. I hope she remembers how valuable it is when she sees the mess it is making!
For other thoughts on children and time, visit our site for ladies.
