Lived In

You may not find things all in place,

Friend, when you enter here,
But, we're a home where children live,
We hold them very dear,

And you may find small fingerprints

and smudges on the wall,
When the kids are gone, we'll clean them up,
Right now, we're playing ball

For there's one thing of which we're sure,

These children are on loan,
One day they're always underfoot,
Next thing you know - they're gone.

That's when we'll have a well-kept house,

When they're off on their own,
Right now this is where children live,
A loved and lived in home.

i saw this poem several months ago and copied it for another time... :) (i wish i could remember the author or where i got it...oops!  :-\ )  but, it seems like "now" is a good time for this poem :) 


one of my "hang ups" is not having people over to spend time at our house because it's so...untidy. i lack hospitality, i guess...  there seems to be clutter everywhere...not just kid clutter, but adult clutter, too... i can't stay ahead of the game, it seems...and when things seem like they're pretty neat and clean, within a day, the clutter seems to find its way back to the counters or side tables or kitchen table... :-\

we really need to simplify, too... we have too much stuff...

and, another thing that's the truth is that, in general, people don't really care or see what i see or think... in reality, i'm too critical about things that really don't matter all that much. :) i don't remember going to someone else's house and thinking, "oh geez, they have 4 magazines piled on their end table...how untidy." instead, i kind of get excited and ask if i can look at the magazines! :) i don't remember thinking, "man, their living room is cluttered with a lot of toys...." instead, i am usually impressed and, perhaps, overwhelmed, at how many toys kids can have and how awesome it is that a living room is really a LIVING room for a family... :)

it's important for people to feel like they can come into our home and enjoy themselves... and it's necessary for me to LET GO of the ideal that the house has to be perfect for friends. :)
yep, trying to teach this old dog new tricks... :)

Happy Friday :)