Kids Throw The Best (Accidental) Shade

Kids are the best accidental shame-throwers.

This delightful little writing excerpt came home from Kid 1’s school today and he has accurately described my homemaking skills to his teacher (And to me. And now, to the world).

The word “disaster” is an accurate assessment of the house for 90ish% of the day. There is (sometimes) a nice little 10ish% window when everyone first wakes up or after everyone has gone to bed (you know, IF everyone actually goes to bed and stays there) when things are presentable.

Beyond that, the house makes brief visits into acceptable territory courtesy of a little panic-cleaning before guests arrive.

There’s an expression that cleaning with kids is like shoveling during a snow storm—basically, futile. The expression’s not wrong, but I like to amend it to say it’s like shoveling in a snowstorm with a measuring spoon. That feels like a more accurate description to me, especially since our third kid came along.

Sometimes it really stresses me out. The mess makes me anxious. I like an orderly house, but I’ve had to learn to lower my standards with each kid. We’re to the point that I’m not even sure we could accurately say there are standards anymore.

This is the best I can do right now. If the best you can do is way less than your desired best, that’s fine. Fist bump! 👊 I’m right there with you.

And if your child decides to write about it during a classroom writing activity? Well, consider it a gift. Years from now, when your child wants to know why you won’t buy him or her a car, you can just trot out this little note.

Hang in there, mamas!

XOXO

Charissa

PS: The good news: teachers are the best at keeping these things to themselves, so check out that post as well!