The moments that matter

So last week I was all, "Hey, of course I can find five minutes to put down a few thoughts now and then.  No big deal!"  And yet here it is, more than a week later and I've made no more progress.  I knew this month was going to be ridiculously busy, but wow...some days I feel like I am just spinning my wheels.

I am drowning in a sea of laundry and haven't seen the bottom of a laundry basket in weeks.  Wilting ferns are still lingering on the front porch, as I haven't yet picked up the mums and pumpkins to replace them.  Last month, I bought a new shower curtain and bath mat for the girls' bathroom...and it's still sitting in the bag under the counter.  Every night I have plans to cross something off the to-do list, something in mind to accomplish for the day, but by the time the girls are in bed and the kitchen is back in order, all I want to do is crash on the couch.

But you know, when I consider the things that have gotten in the way of these seemingly important tasks, I just don't feel that badly about it at all.

These last few weeks have been full of birthday parties, a Homecoming parade, visits with A & M's great-grandparents, and movie nights on a pallet in the living room floor.  We made a trip to the library and had breakfast at our local bakery.  There have been loud, rambunctious dinners out with family and lots of (relatively) quiet dinners at our kitchen table.  We tossed a football around the yard and watched the girls learn to throw their very first softballs--pink softballs, at that. 

In short, we have been busy living, so really, what are a few baskets of laundry or dead ferns in comparison to all the memories we've made?  The things we are busy doing while we aren't cleaning the house are the important things.  When Addison & Mackenzie think back to their childhood, will they remember the piled up laundry or that their mama didn't get fall decorations out, or will they remember the day we covered the shower walls with shaving cream and 'fingerpainted' for an hour?  Judging by the way they kept squealing with laughter and Mackenzie's declaration that "This is so much fun, Mama!!", I am guessing it will be the latter.

Yes, this is the good stuff, the moments that matter. These are the times when memories are made...and I'll take those over an empty laundry basket any day.