a place for everything…
Last Saturday was my niece’s first birthday. I flew to Arkansas last year and spent the weekend with my brother and his family a few weeks after she was born to meet her, but I haven’t been back since. And Mike and my kids haven’t been to Arkansas since right before we moved to Florida nearly four years ago.
Mike and I began talking with my brother a few months ago about us making the trip for London’s birthday, and we agreed not to tell the rest of the family. Now, anyone who knows me knows I’m not a very good surprise keeper, so it was a big deal that I managed not to tell, but I did.
Eliza got to make her first flight, and when we arrived in Arkansas Friday night, my kids got their first look at snow. Saturday morning, I took a photo of all four kids (my two and my brother’s two) and emailed it to my parents. That’s how they found out we were in town. Then, my brother, Griff and I paid a visit to my grandmother. She hadn’t seen Griff since he was eight. It’s a wonder she recognized him at all.
Her reaction was worth every penny of the plane ticket.
While we were hanging out at my parents house, I wandered through at one point and noticed how everything was perfectly in place, even though they had no idea anyone was coming to visit. I mean, Perfectly In Place. Seriously. And initially, I felt a little envious. But then, in the quiet of that back room, in the stillness and the perfection, I thought about how that room is always still and perfect… and quiet.
And I thought about how my house - every single room of it - is never still or perfect or quiet. At any given point, there will be crayons on the floor, dirty clothes draped on top of the crayons, open books on the sofa, dolls on the tables, dirty dishes in the sink, unmade beds, towels in the dryer. Try as I might to go green, a light somewhere will be on unnecessarily, and someone will probably be yelling at someone else. Moments late, however, both of those someones will probably be laughing and playing.
And I think that when my house is quiet, I will sorely miss the chaos. And I will hate having everything in its place.
Filed under Most Everything | Permalink |One Response to “a place for everything…”
Leave a Reply
You are so right! All the chaos of strewn toys, goldfish crumbs and blaring cartoons makes me crazy. I can’t imagine, though, how I’ll feel when it’s all gone.
Thanks for the reminder that I need to appreciate it now!
Brandi