Mum’s photo of messy dining table reminds us all what’s important
A mum has shared an all too familiar image social media and frankly, we are so happy she has.
This is why.
She is us!
The image of her messy dining table, cluttered with craft supplies, drawings and a bowl full of nick nacks, including a mobile phone, has reminded me of my own dining table. Does it also resemble yours?
Sometimes it takes a few deep breaths to accept and embrace the chaos that consumes the family home. This is a constant…
Posted by The Parents Village on Tuesday, 26 March 2019
In the post shared by the Parents Village, the mum writes:
“Sometimes it takes a few deep breaths to accept and embrace the chaos that consumes the family home. This is a constant in my living room. A permanent art installation. With very limited space our dining table is a now an ongoing craft workshop.”
Uh-ha, yep. This mum speaks THE TRUTH! Just look at my living room table right now.
More posts about messy homes:
- I’ve stopped cleaning up for other people – and it’s changed my life
- Mum shares ‘f*cket bucket’ cleaning hack and the internet applauds
- How to “pretend-clean” your house when you have guests coming
A symbol of order
The mum goes on to say how the cluttered ‘art installation’ on her table used to bother her. How the first glimpse of it in the morning, and again at night just before bed, would make her stress levels rise.
“I’d feel so disordered and had the urge to pack it all away to return to my neat and tidy minimal display,” she shares.
“Even though I knew that it would all return the next day, the clear table was somehow calming and symbolic of a clear mind and of reclaiming control.”
Again, this woman speaks the truth. I too have found myself clearing the kids’ art ‘mess’ and even folding the washing in the basket in this picture, for this very same reason. Just to feel more in control and mentally clear.
But then she says something that makes me, and I’m guessing all of us, feel better about our messy tables …
Learning to embrace the chaos
Realising that her former dining table is now a ‘creative spot’ for her kids, the mum says she had to undergo a ‘transformation’ in her mindset and let go of her old ways that were niggling at her to always clean it away.
“It’s taken some time but I’ve done the work on myself to re-frame this [thinking]. And I can honestly say that my formerly anal-retentive neat freak tendencies have melted away and been replaced with a sense of awe, curiosity and appreciation for their colour and creativity.”
And that’s just it! One of the best things about being a parent is seeing the world again through a child’s eyes and not being so ‘adult’ all the time.
It is also about living in the moment. Our kids won’t always draw like they are today – turning hearts into faces and drawing their obsession of the moment (as you can see from our table, it’s space and cicadas for us!), so let’s enjoy this pocket of time and let them colour away!
She continues:
“My children love this spot in the house and gravitate to it from the moment they walk in the door. It is a place for intense focus, for learning new skills and for working as a team to invent games, crazy contraptions and beautiful art.”
“Now I watch with wonder and walk by with a smile.”
YASSS!
I love this. And I am going to try and remember it every time I walk past my messy dining table and shudder. I will look at what’s been created there instead.
So please be bold, be game and share a pic of your child’s art space – aka your messy kitchen bench, cluttered dining room table or your desk which they have hijacked on our Facebook page.
We’d love to see it and also spread this message of what really matters when you live in a messy home with kids.
