An Observation

I ran into an old friend whom I haven't seen for several years the other day. After catching up for a moment or two she began her lament about the summer flying by and not having had any time to spend with her children (she doesn't work, by the way) and began listing all of the things she needed to do ending with, "I still need to go home and clean my house, it's been neglected for three whole days now." Wow!
I chose not to say anything, but if she came to my house she would soon realize that my house comes AFTER everything else! Sometimes it can take me a couple of weeks before I decide it really is time to clean. But here's the thing: my house will NEVER be Buckingham Palace. As long as small children roam my house there will always be fingerprint smudges on the glass (right after I do clean it, of course); there will always be tiny shoes scattered across my kitchen floor; my carpets will never again have that "just vacuumed" look to them; there will most likely be Barbie shoes, tiaras, play dresses, and pom poms mixed in with my laundry baskets and there will ALWAYS be a place on my refrigerator for original works of art compliments of my little girls. It will never pass a white glove test, but you know what? I'm okay with it.
My children have one childhood. I have one chance to spend their childhood with them. If I have the choice between going to the park or cleaning out my pantry, the park will win every time. Being a mother is the most important job I will ever have and I enjoy every crazy, funny, stressful, hair-pulling, tear-jerking, wacky, loving moment of it. As Pres. David O. McKay once said, "No amount of success can compensate for failure in the home." To me, that speaks volumes. I could not imagine my life without my children, it's up to me to make sure they grow up knowing just how much they are loved and cared for. I'm just grateful that I have the opportunity to do just that. The housework can wait!