On Sunday, I awoke to four hands bringing a steamy cup of coffee to my bedside. Mother’s Day could have ended right there and it would have been lovely. But it didn’t.
Amid hugs and snuggles, some of the coffee sloshed and spilled. And after bounding inside from the rain, the dog wanted to get in on the celebration and leaped upon the bed with her muddy paws. The bed with freshly-washed sheets that now had smeary paw prints stamped alongside the coffee splatters.
The Man and I looked at each other and just laughed. The rain had washed away his plans for a Mother’s Day picnic and his back-up restaurant was closed. We ended up eating bad Mexican food at a local buffet while our mannerless children bounced around in the booth and dripped queso all over their Sunday clothes.
Our life is a beautiful mess.
Most days I see more mess than I see beautiful, but as the months and years pass I feel a shift. Sometimes I pause before I erupt, survey the scene with the eyes of my future self, the one whose kids have flown the coop and whose nest is tidier but also emptier.
When Future Mom and Present Mom meet up, it’s a good moment. Nothing is perfect but everything is right.
When Monday morning showed up, I had dressed a toddler three times and cursed the dog more than that, all before 9 am. I’d gone to bed ridiculously late and didn’t get my run in. I was tired and cranky. The kitchen was a mess, the laundry undone, the paint peeling. I’d just planted flowers and yet the weeds were winning. Also? It was raining. Again.
Sometimes mess simply trumps beauty. Or so my eyes and mind would have me believe. But it’s never true. Never.
There is life pulsing hard and loud and messy in this place. Life! And there is nothing more beautiful than that.
On rainy, chaotic Mondays and messy, overwhelming Wednesdays, Future Mom stands beside me, loving and stern, and tells me to inhale all that I see and exhale thanks. And of course Present Mom is prone to look up at her with a roll of the eyes, and say something sassy in reply. {Present Mom wishes Future Mom would do a little time travel and help a sister out with the laundry.}
But she doesn’t do laundry. She only speaks truth.
Present Mom tells me to change the circumstances {or the wall color or the furniture or the behavior of my children} and life will be beautiful.
But Future Mom tells me that it’s already beautiful. Choose to see what you already have, she says. It’s everything you ever dreamed of and more.
If you’re drowning in mess and can’t quite grab hold of all the beauty, I can give you Future Mom’s phone number. She’s always available and the best kind of bossy.
Michelle says
This was perfect–and beautiful (except for the muddy paw prints–I cringed at those). I’ll make sure that I channel my Future Mom today.
ellen says
i like this idea. when future mom and present mom meet. praying for more of that in my life.
julie says
I kinda like peeling paint, and unwashed clothes!
I have an idea. Throw away some clothes!
There.
Problem solved.
Matt, Michelle, Will, Abigail, and Caroline says
I love this! I too look to future mom for help when it seems like all my baby wants is to be held. Why does present mom find that so annoying sometimes? It will be but a blink and she will be toddling around running from me. 🙂
Thanks for this reminder. And to make you feel better about the rain..at least it’s free water to make things grow. Our water bill is outrageous because it never rains here. I would love some free water from the sky. 🙂
MOM says
(Sh-h-h. This is future mom whispering from way out here.)
It’s neater, tidier, quieter . . . and at times, I’m dealing with the question: “Why didn’t I do ___________ (fill in the blank) differently?”
To all you readers: Drink deeply of what Scooper is serving up. It’s a cool mixed beverage of godly realism and godly wisdom.
LYF,
MOM
Gina says
I love this post and I love your mom. This is just the reminder I needed in this season, thank you! And the next time you see future mom, please send her my way!