‘I signed up for this. Messes, timeouts and blow outs. You know what I didn’t sign up for? Multiple hospital stays.’: Mom says it’s not about the ‘mess’ it’s about the ‘lesson’

“My journey with infertility, loss of twin girls and having a child with severe heart disease has taught me that most of this is ‘just stuff’ and that my memories are so much more important.

Kids make messes. Did you know that?

Even the most ‘perfect’ of parents have kids that make messes. The ole ‘turn your head for three seconds’ sort of thing.

I feel like my kids’ naughty behavior by taking the flour and throwing it at each other is a basic metaphor for my life in so many ways…

First of all, no matter how much you control your life, you can’t control others.

Secondly, it’s not really about WHO cleans up the mess, it’s about the lesson. As long as they understand the respect behind their actions, I don’t care that I save myself the time and effort by cleaning it up myself. I mean have you seen a 4 and 6-year-old properly clean up flour? Common y’all. It’s like raking leaves during a hurricane.

Lastly, their faces. I’m not ever going to tell them that I wasn’t thinking about the mess and that I was loving their little faces and the joy that was taking place. That’s MY secret. But it’s the little things. Really.

I signed up for this. I signed up for messes and timeouts and blow outs. You know what I didn’t sign up for? Multiple hospital stays where all of these little moments were robbed from our family.

Don’t tell them… but… this right here is one of my most favorite parts of parenting; the messy ones. THIS can be cleaned up. Heart disease can’t.

PS- The vacuum was a fantastic invention.”

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Kelly Blumenthal of Prayers for Finn. Follow their journey on Facebook here and Instagram here.  Do you have a similar experience? We’d like to hear your important journey. Submit your own story here. Be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.

Read more stories from Kelly here: 

‘Michael got news something had gone wrong. I was being put under anesthesia immediately. He wasn’t thinking he would have to worry about me too.’

‘I heard one of them whisper ‘Oh no, look at his chest.’ So, I walked over.’: Mom confronts strangers who were staring at young son’s scars

‘That’s my brother,’ he stood next to me crying. He never left him. His skin was white as a sheet.’: Mom ‘so shaken’ after son’s stroke scare, ‘No moment is promised’

Do you know someone who could benefit from this story? SHARE this story on Facebook with your friends and family.