Today was a beautiful spring day, albeit a little windy, but beautiful nonetheless. My kids are out of school on spring break so I decided to take advantage of the fact and have some fun. Even though Monday is typically cleaning day for me I decided to forget my dirty laundry and dishes. I ignored the fact that the bathrooms needed to be cleaned and that the kitchen floor crunches when you walk on it and we went to the park.
I stood and watched, the wind blowing my hair. My kids shouted, “Hey mom, watch me!” as they slid down the slide or climbed the rock wall. My chest swelled with pride as I watched my six year old son help his two year old sister get off the slide and protected her from the older boys running around. I loved seeing my timid four-year-old climb up the plastic-mountain and slip down the twisty slide. I knew a dirty house awaited me at home, but I chose to ignore the fact and enjoyed my time with my children.
Afterwards we all got ice cream cones. Their sticky, chocolate covered faces were adorable, although I resisted the temptation to kiss them.
When we got home the laundry was still there, my bathrooms were still dirty, and my floor still crunched, but it didn’t matter. We had fun.
I remember my grandmother telling me about the time she dropped everything and took her kids to fly kites. It is a memory that she treasured to the end. I know that I will feel the same way about today. After all aren’t our children more important than a clean house.