For being so tiny, kids sure can make shockingly large messes. I mean, my toddler is on the smaller end of the size spectrum, but anytime there are blocks to be spread out on the carpet, or markers used to draw on one’s own legs, he is up for the challenge. Despite my best efforts to convince my partner that we should employ a live-in housekeeper (budget? Who needs a budget?), the fact remains that we don’t have anyone, except ourselves, to clean up the play area after hurricane two-year-old, the apple of our eyes.
If parenting has taught me anything, perhaps it’s the ability to find joy in the mundane. You know, the way a child lights up over simple things like popsicles, the "choo choo" of a train, and garbage trucks driving by, and just how glorious unabashed laughter can be when it's directed towards the little things.
Still, despite my newfound appreciation for the simple, I can’t bring this enthusiasm to chores. I just can’t. I wish I could, you guys. I wish I could find a way to enjoy the dirty dishes and clogged drains and piles of laundry and all the damn diapers and, well, you get the idea. However, I have found a few ways to make them less tortuous, which I suppose is half the battle. Allow me to share, what I suspect, is how many moms out there are doing the same: