Perspective.  By definition perspective is a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.  Sometimes all you have to do is shift your perspective.  And that is exactly what I needed – a shift in how I viewed those messes. They indeed were messes but they were also very much memories. 

Now you can’t just throw caution to the wind and live in constant messes.  Children need to have boundaries and be taught to care for their things and clean up after themselves.  However, in the moment, in the middle of the mess, you are indeed building memories.   

As I think back, I can recall some of the biggest messes and the greatest memories.  When we were putting in our pool, it rained for many days before the concrete was poured and it made a giant mud puddle.  The best image I can give you is otters.  My children asked if they could “slide” down the muddy sides to the puddle at the bottom.  And they did... over and over and over again until mud was all I could see.  A huge mess – yes; but an even bigger memory.   

I can’t even count the number of kitchen messes that have happened over the years.  But we all have memories of homemade pasta on Christmas Eve and countless cookies that will last a lifetime.   

At some point I decided to make my new perspective a permanent part of our home and still have the sign hanging that simply says “Pick up your feet, we’re building memories”.  And by the way, not even a year ago, almost all of my children sat in my dining room and built LEGOs together creating a bit of a mess that is still partially there; but so is the memory of laughter and sibling bonding.  

So, if you are knee deep in LEGOs or train tracks or American girl dolls or mud pies or countless craft boxes just pick up your feet because you are building memories that will last a lifetime.