Grant me patience
to deal with my
BLESSINGS!

Friday, July 5, 2013

Of things imperfect, flawed and oh so wonderful!

Dimples....facial dimples that is....
Did you know that they are a facial muscle deformity? Yup.

But seriously, who doesn't love a smile with dimples??? Deformities CAN be wonderful!

 This hottie has dimples.


 Brennen has a dimple, but it's right in the crease of his smile so it is harder to notice.


Same with Kya. Her dimples are in the crease of her smile too


Anna and Carter have a very dominant one on the right cheek...it almost looks like someone poked a finger into their squishy cheeks and left an indent that never went back!


My facial muscles are NOT deformed...no dimples for me...at least of the facial kind....so I am LOVING seeing them everyday when my kids smile.

Thinking about the concept of genetic deformities and how a dimple, a flaw, should be seen as a bad thing is actually seen in most cultures as a "sign of attractiveness and veracity", well, it got me thinking about other things we, as women and mothers, might see as imperfect or flawed and how we can come to notice the good in the things we are often most critical about.

I don't know about you, but there are all kinds of little things I can get worked up over: 

Whining.
Whining and Crying.
Whining, Crying, and Rolling around on the floor.

Fighting and Arguing.

Messes and Clutter. Cleaning up other's messes and clutter.

Sweeping...multiple times a day. And even after I just swept, stepping on crumbs....gah!
And if it isn't sweeping, it's mopping. It seems pointless that we work so hard to clean a floor that will only get dirty again...but there is some little voice in my head telling me that I can't feel completely satisfied until everything is completely spotless.

Hahahaha.....spotless??? Anyone else find the humor in that?

Also, you know what else gets me?

Dust. And Sticky finger prints on windows, chairs, cupboards...well, pretty much any surface.

Never-ending laundry.

Cleaning out the Refrigerator!!!

Poop in panties....
Poop that for the 100th time I've explained needs to go in the potty! Poop goes IN the POTTY!!!

Pushing, pinching, hitting, running around like wild monkeys, jumping on the couches, throwing pillows, bouncing basketballs inside, begging for candy at the store, not using your words, refusing to eat dinner, coloring on anything other than paper, begging for a bike helmet and then crying because it has to be worn, making non-stop weird noises, potty talk....


Over the past few years, I have been working really hard at trying to ignore the bubbling hot steam that occurs in my chest cavity when dealing with raising kids, and dealing with household order and cleanliness.

I look at myself in the mirror and I often allow myself to see an imperfect and flawed wife and parent. I look around our house somedays and let myself only see the flawed and imperfect. And I even look at my kids at moments and let myself see only the difficulties that come with being a stay-at-home-mom.

BUT....

There's so much more, and those dimples help remind me. A deformity everyone loves! And what hits me even harder is the cute little faces with those adorable dimples on them, those cutie pies who spill milk and dig in the garden, cute faces that can transform into the most pathetic grimaces, cute mouths that produce the best kinds of giggles and the worst kinds of wails, cute little pudgy fingers that rip pages in books and throw spaghetti all over the floor, well.... they all belong to me. My kids. Mine. I grew them and brought them to this world...I earned saggy boobs and stretch marks....bags under my eyes, varicose veins and protruding tissue in places you never thought possible, hemorrhoids, headaches, heart breaks, and most importantly....I earned a little bit of Heaven from those cute little dimpled faces.

And you know what?

My toilet needs to be scrubbed. My bed isn't made. There is lipstick all over my girl's bedroom carpet. I might not be patient all the time and there will be nights when everyone goes to bed without a story, or a drink of water, or another hug and a kiss because if I have to walk through that door one more time my head will likely EXPLODE! And that's okay. Because all things imperfect and flawed in life can still be wonderful because of the lives we share the imperfections with. They are what's most important. So, let's all just cut the pity parties, the criticism, the frowns and foot-stomping and start finding the wonderful moments that will be gone before we know it.

That's advice I am going to take with me this week....while I scrub my toilet and sweep and mop and make peanut butter sandwiches, break up fights, apply Band-Aids and help clean up messes and do time-outs and bike rides, story time, searching the house from top to bottom for that missing library book, giving lectures, doing laundry and creating the best blanket forts, giving hugs and kisses and dessert before dinner, ranting and raving, tickling tummies and even ignoring some tasks like dusting and window washing and that pile of clutter collecting on my dresser.

My life really IS wonderful...flawed and imperfect, and oh, so wonderful! 








The End.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

i'm feeling the same way today. Being a parent is so hard, but I just love going into Savannah's room after her nap and seeing her big slobbery smile. Even though she's sick and it's been tough, there's nothing better than kissing her little cheeks and squeezing her. Being a mom is the most difficult...and the most rewarding experience, all in one! so worth it!