Letting it go

"You love to eat dirt!" I tease Carson as we try to decide what to have for a mid-morning snack.
"NO!!! I DON'T like to eat duht!" he insists.
"Yummmm, yummmmm, yummmmmy! I'll go get a bunch of dirt right now for your snack!"
"NOOOOOO!" He's still smiling, but also a little concerned that this may not be a joke.

I pull down the chocolate powder to make him a cocoa-baba (chocolate milk) and say, "Here's the dirt! Hand me your cup, please, and I'll fill it up with spoonfuls of this yummy, yummy dirt."

His look is priceless...a mixture of relief and excitement.
"Dat's not duht!"
"It's not?"
"NO!!! I eat duht from under mine fingernails, though."

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One of the best pieces of advice I got in anticipation of my third baby was, "You just have to learn how to let things go."

I didn't really get it...what could be let go in my life? My children needed to eat - - - my house needed to be cleaned - - - my laundry needed to be done - - - what could be cut out? Now, 7 months into this baby #3 thing, I get it.

I have papers on my microwave that have built their own little community and have no intent on ever leaving.

There's a 2X1 foot square in the corner of my dining room that the vacuum can't reach unless I change outlets in the middle of my vacuuming...I don't think that square has been vacuumed for 7 months now. And I've all but forgotten the hose attachment...I think all the tiny scraps of paper and little dirt clumps have figured out that their safe place is anywhere they can hug a wall. The same piece of paper you noticed last time you came over will be there next time...and the next...and the next.

There's a layer of dust collecting on my mantle that is getting so high I can see it from a sitting position on my couch.

We have pancakes or quesidillas for dinner at least one night a week, and leftovers for another two.

My plants get watered when they're sagging so low their leaves brush the ground.

I can actually see the crumbs underneath the stove, and dust bunnies keep flying out from under the couches and entertainment stand.

And...my kids eat dirt out from underneath their fingernails.

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Yesterday, we had company coming in to stay the night. An old BYU friend interviewing for residencies around the country. I washed the sheets on the guest bed for him, and scrubbed the toothpaste remnants out of the bathroom sink. I picked up the bits of scattered toilet paper, put the extra stepping stools in the closet, and wiped the yellow spots off of the toilet (boys!). Just as I was turning my back on a job done well enough, I glanced at the white towels I have hanging on the towel rack. I quickly did a double-take and remembered what I had seen a few days before: a yellowish-green, crusty snot smear spanning 5 inches across the middle of the bright white towel.

Um, gross.

It was in this moment that I reached a new level of 'letting it go'. Generally, I would whip that towel into the washing machine before you could count to ten...but I didn't have time for that, and I didn't really have the energy for that either. So, I picked the towel up, turned it around, and slipped it back over the towel rack.

Out of sight, out of mind.

I only hope our guest didn't wipe his hands on that towel - he most certainly would have found the hidden crustiness.

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I've learned that life kind of prioritized itself. The things that REALLY bug me are getting done...the beds are made every day, and the rooms are tidy. There are usually no shoes in the middle of my floor, and the TV is usually closed behind the entertainment center doors. Our clothes make it into the laundry hamper and there are no toys on my kitchen floor (crumbs and sometimes giant pieces of food, yes...but no toys).

AND - I still get to play with my kids and feed them, too. :)