Blessings In Messes

Summer means that I spend time outdoors rather than indoors. This directly translates into the fact that housework gets pushed aside. It's hard to find time to maintain gardens and keep the floors clean both, and one can't garden in winter, so I choose seasonally.

Living in a house with perpetually messy floors and cluttered counters irritates me, but since I spend more time outside than in, I clean what I see to make up for it. The patio is forever being cleaned.

After an evening sitting around the campfire with friends, I rearrange chairs to where they belong again.

I pick socks up from behind the bench where they were pulled off so a kid could run into the yard and not get wet socks after the dew sets in.

I gather sidewalk chalk back into it's basket after admiring the murals all over the 1,000 square feet of patio pavers.

I pick up toy guns and dress up clothes from the yard where they were cast off as the kids and their friends were tired of playing with one thing and moved on to another.

I pick up cups and chocolate wrappers from an evening of s'mores and snacks with friends.

I put the balls and bubbles back into the toy basket.

And then I sit back and marvel at how the family has grown together this summer and all the fun we have with friends and extended family. The patio is the family room of summer, and someday I hope the kids will sit around talking of all the fun they've had out back.