Guess who didn't do laundry?....

This Girl!

A glimpse of my minor housekeeping infraction

And…. I also have a sink full to the brim with dirty dishes (rinsed, but not yet washed).  I’m surprisingly calm as I search and search for clothes I know are in the heaping pile consuming a good 75% of my laundry room.  Caler is, however, quite perturbed. He can’t seem to find his “bug” costume and swears it has been buried.  I try to console him as best I can. He looks up and says “But I can’t work for the Government today without my bug costume. I neeeeeeeeeeeeeeed it!” Stifling back a giggle, I tell him that I’ll find it and make sure it’s clean for the next day of important US Government business.  Accepting this as a reasonable offer, he scampers away to save the world one dragon and government disaster at a time.

I often find myself pondering the importance of such tasks as laundry and dishes. I’ve come to the conclusion that although they are important and will continue to reproduce at the rate of rabbits until I get around to them, there are two little boys growing at an even faster rate that simply cannot be put out of sight until I "get around" to watching them.  The piles of everything will be there in 5 minutes, but the precious questions, sayings, hugs, giggles, and smiles from these two growing boys won’t.  I don’t want to miss out on another adventure in the life of Special Agent Captain America President Caler D (his new name, so I’ve been informed) nor do I want to miss another fact or figure from the mystifying mind of Ayden the Great! I will 3-Ever put household chores on hold while I busy myself being Momma to the two greatest people I know.

I still get frustrated watching the piles of clothes and dishes accumulate. It’s almost as if I can feel their stare when I reach for my book instead of the detergent. I can hear them whispering words of betrayal while I take a minute (or 60) after the boys fall asleep quieting the silence that takes over my normally rowdy home. They don’t have to stare or whisper for long though, I do actually manage to get them finished without any mold infestation or the stench of dirty laundry seeping from under the laundry room door. 

I have also learned to multi-task… I will have Ayden and Caler sit up to the counter and while they work on homework (ABC’s and Numbers for Mr. Caler man after his US Government work has been completed, of course.) I can rinse and load dishes while keeping an open ear as the kids tell me all about their days, and also be readily available for homework help. ( Although, I can honestly say, when it comes to math questions… I’m usually the student while Ayden quite literally “dumbs it down” for his momma!)

It’s often mentioned children grow too fast and the importance of parents stopping to enjoy their children is necessary, but I don’t think it’s advice that is adhered to enough by parents. It’s easy to succumb to the busy and hectic world.  Life is busy and it’s messy. It’s that simple.  I think priorities have shifted too much to things that won’t matter in the end. My choice is easy and always will be. I choose my sons. I will always choose to listen to Caler’s adventures trudging through the tough work of the US Government or the latest light saber move Ayden has mastered with speed and slightly less grace, over dishes and laundry or whatever else. 

So I had a busy day and my sink is still full of dishes and I'm 99% sure there is a sock monster growing in the laundry pile… so what?  My kids have been fed, they have been read to, snuggled with, wrestled with, they feel cared for and most importantly… they feel safe and LOVED.