Preserve the memories not the lines...
My last visit to my Grandma's house was 14 years ago. My 4 kids and I went to see my Grandma Olga. Niko was 12, Daniella was 9, Makenna was 3, and Jacinda was 10 months old. My grandma lived in a beautiful home she built in the hills of Lafayette, California. It was literally over the river, through the woods, to Grandma’s house we would go. When I pulled up to the front of her house, it looked like something straight out of a magazine. I loved her yard. The fruit trees, the gardens, the flowers, the pond, the pool and the gazebo. My Grandma's house was perfection, I always remember thinking how amazing it would be to have such a beautiful home, full of rooms and bathrooms and a huge kitchen that yearned to be full of family and fun. I can't remember a time that my Grandmother's home was not spotless. However, what stuck out the most in my mind and sparked a completely different envy than just the size of her house, was the vacuum lines that remained in the carpet in the formal dining room. I was in awe as I noticed her vacuum lines were still in her carpet probably a week or more after she had vacuumed! I thought to myself “ I wish I could keep my house this clean and have it stay picture perfect for more than 5 minutes!” I couldn't wait for the day that I would be able to do that and not have it messed up by sticky little fingerprints or find Legos hiding all over, or walking in to discover the girl's latest art creation they had so carefully designed on the wall with crayons.
What I didn't know at that time, that to have all of this perfection and cleanliness, the kids would have to be gone. You see, I wanted those things because the everyday struggles of 4 loads of laundry, toys everywhere, meals to prepare, beds to make, were overwhelming to me, and the beauty of a pristine home was something only dreams were made of. It took me forever sometimes just to find their bedroom floor before I could even think of vacuuming it. I never grasped that no vacuum lines represented my kids would one day grow up and leave. Those thoughts don't exist in a young mother's mind. "Watch out your kids will grow up in no time" was just something that older ladies say. I never realized the hardest part about parenting would be my kids growing up. I never really listened or understood the reminders... "it all goes by so fast". I tried not to blink.
Then one day I woke up, went to clean my house, and I noticed carefully placed vacuum lines in my carpet, I looked at my beautiful dining table with no fingerprints knowing it would stay that way for days...that's when I realized that vacuum lines are lonely. That Legos, and dirty clothes, and mouths to feed, hair to brush & style, and backpacks to get ready are sometimes very overwhelming, but they're never, ever lonely. What the older ladies had been telling me was true! When did I blink? The Legos & dolls slowly disappeared without me ever noticing. They were replaced by video games, and movies, books, makeup and clothes... then by empty bedrooms waiting for a visit home. Loads of laundry gradually got smaller, the dirty dishes were less and the endless treasures of Pokemon cards, stuffed animals, refrigerator art, Polly Pockets, rock collections and everything that resembled the happiness of childhood that had always been so present, all disappeared. Everything is almost picture perfect now and I appreciate and love this time of my life. I only wish I had known the cost of vacuum lines, because then I surely wouldn't have wanted this day to come as fast as it did. Always take pictures hang them on your walls, display them in alums, preserve the memories you will cherish them more far more than the vacuum lines.
Happy Mother's Day to all mothers everywhere. Trust me don't blink, the vacuum lines are overrated. To the new “moms to be” don't rush things because it will go too fast, and it's not just something that older ladies say. To the young mothers who struggle through the mountains of laundry and responsibility cherish your children, their messes and stresses and the moments pass much quicker than you’d imagine. To the moms with the vacuum lines because their teens have 1 foot out the door you're gonna miss this, even with all the attitude. To the mothers with vacuum lines who miss their children dearly cherish the memories. To my own mother Elizabeth & grandma Olga in heaven, who I lost just 1 week apart, I miss you everyday. I cant believe this will 13 Mothers days without you. Vacuum lines aren't permanent and neither are mothers. To all the children that are blessed enough to still a have your Mother in your life take some time recognize her because tomorrow isn't promised Your Mom wont always be here and that too is not just something older ladies say.
