Each of us dreams of having our home organized, direct from the Architectural Digest. A haven which is totally our own, that meets our every need and is unique to our taste. Beautiful in it’s presence.
With that in mind, I decided to create a little reading corner. I added a few little decorative pillows to one corner. I imagined this little nook where anyone would feel cozy enough to unwind. A library next to it and lit candles around to create that perfect warm ambience. Sites were browsed, a color pallet was chosen and accent pillows were bought to add that right splash of color to our living area. I even added ethnic touches, to make it match with the décor and get the number of pillows right as per the interior design sites.
The number should ideally be odd, in case you were wondering.
But I had forgotten that once you have children, your life is governed by your little ones and their whimsy.
In retrospect while paying for those very pillows, imagining my little haven all neat and tidy I had clearly underestimated the imaginations of the little people in my life.
Within the first few moments of being placed they were scattered around. Every single day those pillows transform into play things. Some days they are mountains to jump off, other days a car zooming around. Some days they are a fire truck and other days a fort to be crawled into or a shopping counter off which we get cookies and pizzas. Castles and shops. They are even rocks from another world or shields in a war against monsters. On rare days they are every thrown around in pillow fights, making full use of their given name ” Throw Pillows”.
Over time I have come to accept that they will never be where I expect them to be. Now I don’t see the threads coming off those their ends and the stains slowly but surely forming. What I do notice, with candid exasperation is the gleeful smile on my kiddo’s face as he flies into another dimension, naughtily stating, ” Look mama, I’m making mess of pillows !! ”
Most nights, as I pick up those pillows and all the toys off the floor putting everything back where it is supposedly meant to be, I wonder why I bother even.
Then again, those satisfying moments as I walk down the stairs into my neat living room to have my morning cup of coffee in a space just the way I like it, I feel like I have it all together.
That the day can bring nothing that I cannot handle. I start the day anew.
And even though you will often hear me demanding him to stop and ranting about ” why are you doing that with the pillows ? Please put them back. ” I secretly cherish the fact that each ” Good morning Mama. ” will soon be followed by a special kind of happiness in their hearts as they let their imaginations soar wild!
So this year mamas, I implore you to look around and consciously CHOOSE to let go of the chaos. For that is where the laughter, memories and little minds grow.
