No one knows messy like I know messy

Most people think I’m a lovely housekeeper. These are my friends in “real” life and my family. They are the ones that visit for the holidays or stopover for a little get together. According to them, “my house always looks spotless.”

I have a secret to confess. It’s because I clean my arse off before they get here. I have this mental thing about every last piece of clutter and dust and whatever being picked up and put away. And let me tell you, it’s hard work because there is a lot of that in my house.

I am married to a grown man (and we all know how messy they can be). I have a 4 year old child that eats and drops (the wrapper), plays and drops (the toy), undresses and drops (the clothes). There’s always someone to pick up after.

And then there’s Emma. My 8 year old toy poodle who doesn’t always know that outside is where she should, you know, go. And finally, we have Josie. The big fat cat. She’s practically a ghost in this house but we know she’s here by the constantly empty chow bowl and the tumbleweeds of cat hair that go floating by.

I could go on and on about my house. I could explain why I bought a $400 carpet cleaner. Let’s just say, I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of it.

But there are always messy moments that are more memorable than others. Those that are so ridiculous that you just have to laugh. Unless it’s the result of something your child has done, in which case, you pretend that you’re mad and then privately have a good laugh about it.

There was the time I was putting Evan down for a nap. He was young. Probably less than a year old. He was hanging on to one of my lipsticks for dear life. He was so happy to grip it and hold it and when I attempted to take it away, it wasn’t a happy scene.

So for the sake of peace and a timely nap, I put him to sleep with that little tube of lipstick.

Yeah, you know where this is going.

You’re shaking your head saying, Oh, Fadra. What were you thinking?

I awoke to my darling little boy happily playing in his crib with lipstick smeared all over his face, hands, and crib sheets. But at least he looked pretty.

One of my absolute favorite messiest moments, though, is the time that Evan decided to take his magic markers and draw on his floor pad. Apparently, he was left to do this unsupervised.

Again, you say, Oh Fadra. What were you thinking?

It was the holidays and I’m sure I was busy with a million and one things. I don’t remember the exact circumstances or why he was upset. I’m just glad that we had the sense to capture it on film.

If life didn’t have messy moments, how would we create memories like this?