If becoming a mother of two has taught me anything, it is that the dishes, the laundry, the cleaning, while it does need done can wait…. It is difficult enough to split the time between two children, the dishes don’t deserve to take their attention or time.
If motherhood has taught me anything it’s tha
t you can’t control everything. There are great days, good days, and days that take everything out of you. There are moments where everything is in place and other moments where you feel like you are in the middle of a three ring circus that has no ring leader. Among the chaos it’s important to remember this simple phrase: “the dishes won’t remember.” Feel free to replace dishes with laundry, dusting, vacuuming… etc.
I know what you’re thinking, I feel better when the house is clean and organized… here’s a secret I do too. I do my best throughout the day to clean up as we move throughout our day, which can be a challenge. At night I do a quick 10 minute pick up that puts away anything out of place, gets a load of laundry started and/or gets the dinner dishes into the dishwasher. There are nights I am exhausted and this is the last thing I want to, but I know it makes the next day so much easier. 
When you start the day with an organized house, you don’t feel as much of a pull to clean and can concentrate on what’s important. I’m also sure to set up the coffee pot for the next day because we all can agree that motherhood needs coffee.
As much as I would like to say that the house is always clean and organized –this is far from the truth. Sometimes the laundry is sitting in the basement in baskets, the breakfast dishes are in still in the sink while we are eating dinner, and the playroom looks like a tornado went through it. While the mess can stress me out that mess represents the day we had. That mess means that we did an extra puzzle, read an extra book, or stayed at the playground an extra thirty minutes.
Since
the birth of our second child, I’ve tried to really focus on the needs of our two year old. While I do believe in teaching patience, if it’s something that can wait it gets put second. The dishes won’t remember that you stopped washing them, that you waited until 10pm to get them done, but that little girl tugging at your leg will remember. She will remember the mom that said yes. The mom that put the dishes down, walked away from the laundry pile, the mom that played, read a story, danced around the living room. The mom that realized the importance of putting those who will remember before the objects that won’t.
