Messy drives me crazy. Clutter makes me anxious. I am a firm believer in everything has a place, and everything should be in its place.

So when things get messy… I get twitchy and restless and I feel like my head may explode. (And just imagine the mess that would make!)

But since having kids, I’ve had to accept that I can’t clean up every mess. (Who has that kind of time??) And slowly, as I’ve given in to stacks of paper on the table and dirt under the fingernails and the mounds of shoes by the front door, I’m becoming more and more okay with the mess. Because I’ve come to realize that the things that make my life messy (and sometimes dirty) are the things that make my life better.

Without the mess, I wouldn’t have any of these moments. So maybe a little mess every once in awhile isn’t that big of a deal.

(Just not all the time. )