Bless this mess!

Most mothers of toddlers spend countless time picking up toys, messes, food, etc. off of the floor. Sometimes it is even senseless to constantly clean until the end of the day when the gremlins are recharging. For me, my house stays pretty spotless unless I am contributing to the clutter. My son is non-mobile (right now - because I have faith it won't always be this way). His toys stay pretty organized. If you're a mom that takes a deep sigh or rolls their eyes when they hear the toy box dumped over, I feel for you, I do, but maybe after reading this it will make you feel a little more humbled. You see, today, I got to sweep play sand off of the floor. It made me feel like a mama of an abled toddler. I cried as I swept it off the floor and to be honest, I kind of let it sit there for a while before I was even ready to clean up. My son has sensory issues and does not like to really get his hands dirty, so we don't get to play with icky stuff very often. I went to the Five Below Store. Do ya'll have one of those? It's awesome! They have a whole aisle for sensory toys etc. If you have a child that likes slime, that's your place to go! I am not a mother that gets to go to the store and hear her child ask for this or that and have so many toys in their hands that they can't even walk and it's all falling out around them. I don't get to hear my son throw a tantrum when he doesn't get what he wants. I know for some, that's a dream. But for me, it would be a privilege. So, I found myself in Five Below filling up my basket with fun stuff that I think Asher would like and imagining us playing together with this fun, new stuff. It made me whole. I felt like a mama. It's the little things and little triggers that special needs parents feel, and they are so misunderstood. This was mine. So, we came home, and we got our hands dirty! We played with the blue moon sand. He had a great time. I called him my little smurf because he was covered in blue! It was all over the floor and he tried to eat it. Right then and there I felt what I don't often get to feel, I was able to FEEL like a mama of a toddler. The smiles, the mess, the fun. It made me whole.

There have been several occasions that my friends have brought their little ones over and their child had gotten into EVERYTHING (my house is NOT toddler-proof as it has no reason to be). I heard thousands of apologies and offers to clean up the mess they made and the toys that were all over the floor. A million times I'd say "no, it's okay, I promise, I'll clean it" they insisted to clean it anyways and I would too if it were my child and someone else's house, but what they didn't know is that it made me feel like a mama of a toddler. I wanted it to stay a mess a little while longer. I wanted to see the toys all over the floor, but they didn't know, how could they? After reading this, I hope you will see a glimpse of my mama heart and not get overstimulated or upset when your children make a mess or throw a fit (with boundaries) because they want a toy at the store. Or if you visit my house with your toddler, let them make a mess, and let me help you clean it up.

Bless this Mess.