Monday Morning Snapshot

What does this picture tell you about my morning?

I didn’t sweep last night.  You will notice that there is both dinner and breakfast food in that pile.  I had time to sweep this morning.  I also had time to take a photo and type this post.  The pile is large, which means that there are many of us, and we are messy when we eat.  There are no green vegetables in the pile, which means we didn’t have any green vegetables for dinner last night.  The tile on my kitchen floor has no texture, and so every bit of dirt always shows.  There is more than just food in this pile, there is dirt.  My kitchen floor is always dirty.

What this picture doesn’t tell you about my morning?

I wasn’t feeling well last night, and so I spent the evening on the sofa.  The house was quiet yesterday because my children were playing outside, bringing dirt into my kitchen.  I had time to sweep this morning because my children all came downstairs and started breakfast without me.  The younger ones then went outside while my older two children started their schoolwork.  I cleaned a messy kitchen in peace, while listening to my older daughter play a beautiful piece by Mozart on the piano.  My baby had to be held a lot because the kitchen floor was so dirty.  At 15 months she is still crawling, and eating everything off the floor.  She giggled and snuggled with me as I did my chores with her on my hip.

My 1st grade son started his schoolwork promptly because he could not wait to get outside and play baseball with his younger brother.  As I did dishes I watched my younger son throw a perfect strike which his big brother smashed.  The ball hit a tree and so he was held to a single.  They congratulated each other and continued their game.  I smiled and laughed out loud.  It warms my heart to see my boys play.  It was a special grace that I happened to look up and see that exchange.

I walked with a spring in my step, up and down the stairs at least 10 times doing many of the things I would normally do the night before — namely washing baseball uniforms and softball practice clothes.  We have games tonight and grandparents coming.  I felt relaxed and happy as I cleaned and got things back in order.  My chaos these days is temporary.  My floor is already dirty again, and I am so grateful.