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A Tale of Socks…

My four year old came up to me the other day and asked if she could play with her sister’s socks, I said yes and before I knew it, other random items from around the house also began disappearing.

I continued with prepping for dinner and didn’t interfere with her creativity or whatever was going on in the girls room. It was a rare moment during their play time that I wasn’t having to come up with an activity or entertain them, so I just let them continue playing.

Several minutes later I was asked to come to their “store” and was given some paper money to buy items. She had arranged the socks in my muffin pans as “cupcakes”, shoes were lined up on the windowsill as items to buy, little puzzle pieces were painstakingly arranged as little “cookies” and “biscuits” in stacks on top of books (cookie sheets), and tupperware was filled with other random items and placed around the room. I was handed a shopping bag and given a thorough tour of their store and what products were for sale.

After carefully selecting items to purchase, and handing her the paper money, she said “Wait a minute Mommy, you need your receipt!” She placed a shoe liner in the crack of her dresser drawer and slowly pulled it out with sound effects “Vvvvvvt!”

I just love moments like these, seeing her have the freedom to explore an idea based on things she has experienced, and implement them with her imagination and creativity. This imagination play has continued for several days now and each time there has been variations on the items available for sale and delicious sounding food from the bakery.

My favourite thing that she “made” me is Avocado chocolate chip and strawberry muffins!

To Continue on Socks…

In the weeks that followed, socks began turning up everywhere it seemed. Socks as mittens, socks as purses, socks as sleeping bags for Barbie dolls, socks as oven mitts, socks as dusters, and socks were carefully folded or rolled up as “food” in the girl’s little toy kitchen pots.

It was as if one simple request unleashed an avalanche of ideas and creativity that I was not altogether prepared for.

I found socks in various stages of imagination play, always still “important” and “No Mommy, I still need that!” was the protest when I would pick up a sock to put away.

**One day I counted 9 odd socks in the clean laundry!**

Now, this may not seem like a big deal to some, and the self-directed playtime has been SO wonderful for both girls (and me, so I can do dinner prep!) But for those that don’t know me, I have struggled for many years with some OCD tendencies. And chaos in the form of clutter and toys strewn about is still quite a challenge!

I have no stress going to other homes that are likewise -very much lived in- and it’s just a given with having kids that life will be messy! But when it’s my home comfort space, that I spend most of my time in…you get the idea.

I have however changed a lot in the past few years since becoming a mom. For example, learning to let go of controlling the state of the living room (at least until the kid’s bedtime) is an area that I have grown in. And for me there’s an energy limit of reminding my oldest to put something away before getting new toys out!

Through all this, my husband is of course the easy-going steady stream of “Relax honey, just let the kids do their thing, and I’ll help tidy up after.”

(I’m sure other moms can relate that sometimes it’s not just the kids that leave puddles of belongings around the house!) But to his credit, he’s a man of his word and always helps when he can.

So at the end of the day, when little eyes have closed for sleep and little feet have stopped rushing around, I look at the puddles of toys and remind myself that there won’t always be chaos. That one day their beautiful blue eyes will see and experience things that they can’t while living with us. And their precious little feet will take them on adventures away from Mum and Dada’s home.

So on those crazy, chaotic and deliciously messy days, I am doing my best to learn to be thankful for this unique time together, and treasure these creative and messy memories made with my kids. It is, after all, fun and precious moments like this that are more important than how clean and tidy my house is!

Here are a few of my favourite quotes to share with anyone who may need some fellow “Mom-couragement”!

“A Mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them.” (Victor Hugo)

“Mothers can look through a child’s eyes and see tomorrow.” (Reed Markham)

“To the world you are a mother, but to your family you are the world.” (Unknown)

“Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.” (Barbara Kingsolver)

“Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn’t know you had, and dealing with fears you didn’t know existed.” (Linda Wooten)

“If you’re a Mom, you’re a superhero. Period.” (Rosie Pope)

“There is no way to be the perfect mother, but a million ways to be a good one.” (Jill Churchill)

“She is clothed with strength and dignity, she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue.” (Proverbs 31:25-26)

“Good Moms have homes that are clean enough to be healthy, and messy enough to be happy.” (Unknown)

“Mother is the heartbeat in the home; and without her, there seems to be no heartthrob.” (Leroy Brownlow)

“For I am the Lord your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you ‘Do not fear, I will help you.'” (Isaiah 41:13)

“Cleaning your home while your kids are still growing is like shovelling the drive before it has stopped snowing.” (Unknown)

“Her children rise up and call her blessed.” (Proverbs 31:28)

“We have a secret in our culture, and it’s not that birth is painful. It’s that women are strong.” (Laura Stavo Harm)

“A baby fills a place in your heart that you never knew was empty.” (Unknown)