Get. Over. It.

I got really tired of seeing the first version of this meme, "Please excuse the mess. The children are making memories." Puuuulease. The place is a mess because you HAVE children. The kids are making messes because they are KIDS. Sure they are making memories, but let's be real here and leave the rainbows and unicorns out of it. Of course that bugged me. If you know me, you know that I can get a little . . . irritated over fluff and the people who spread it.

Then I started seeing the second version of this floating around. The more Holly-like person had updated it for realism - the house is a mess "because I'm a crappy housewife," not because we're all rainbows and unicorns here making memories. But still - really? I'm taking all the blame? And HOUSEWIFE?

So I made my own.

YA KNOW WHAT? I'm not taking all the blame for this otherwise nice house being a crap hole. Yeah, the meme is funny. I get that. But you know what's not funny? Moms being made to feel like it all rests on their shoulders and they are failing if things aren't picture-worthy.

Nope - not taking that on. In my case, there are many able-bodied humans living in this house. All capable of cleaning up the clutter. 

So, NOPE. It's not a mess because I'm a crappy housewife (who even USES that term since 1979?) It's a mess because we live here all day every day and, quite frankly, none of us puts enough stock into making it look like Martha Stewart is coming over for tea. 

We have no (P)interest in our house looking cottage cute with a vintage teal-colored bike with flowers growing out of the basket leaning up against the porch railing for people to admire as they walk or drive by. I. Just. Dont. Have. It. In. Me. Our house is full of boys - boys that God handed us to raise. Our house is full of dogs - ours and foster dogs that we take in to find better lives for. And spending my spare time chasing a look just hasn't ever been on my radar. Dealing with special needs as well as letting my boys be boys has. 

We are quite confident in the fact that our family was not put on this earth to reflect current HGTV trends or any kind of cuteness. That was pretty clear when we had a 2nd son receive an Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis. We don't live a charmed life. We live a real life. And that real life can be pretty awesome - but not because of how it looks but because of who we are to one another.

So no - our house isn't a mess all the time because I'm a crappy housewife. It's a mess because we're real people who live here with real priorities that matter.












And hey - those who actually think I'm offended by a flipping meme . . . these are the jokes. Lighten up.