Shut up Martha!

Martha Stewart I ain't when it comes to housework. Don't get me wrong, my house is not dirty. Cluttered? Yes. Dirty? No. I was reading an article recently in a magazine (I can't remember which one) about a mother who was so OCD about her house that her children literally were like "dolls". What I mean by that is that they were not allowed to play in the house, nor make a mess, nor breathe it sounded like. For example, her daughter came home from school with playdough that the kids had made in art class. The mother promptly made the FIVE YEAR OLD CHILD throw away the offending mess maker. With her daughter in tears over the playdough she called the school and YELLED AT THEM for sending playdough home. Another example, her 12 year old son wanted to play for the soccer team at his school. She would not allow it. Not because he got bad grades or had attitude issues, but because it would mean that he would be dirty and that his clothes might get stained.

I WISH I WERE MAKING THIS UP.

This woman makes her children eat with bibs...HER 12 YEAR OLD SON! She mops twice a day. She has a dustbuster in every room. She will not allow her husband to change his clothes unless she is in the room so that she can assure that the clothing gets in the proper color coded laundry basket (Shana, I know you think Brad needs that.).

What do you remember of your mother from your childhood?

I will tell you what I remember. I remember tickle fights, chearleading lessons, singing silly songs, playing games, girl scouts, taking care of the zoo (our backyard), cooking together, laughing together, dancing, playing in the sprinklers.

Yes, we had to clean our rooms. Yes, there were times my mother would not be able to play because there were things to be done. Yes, we had to help around the house. But these aren't the things I remember.

I want my kids to look back on their childhood and remember snake hunting in the backyard, card games, mom in the floor playing power rangers, mom out in the backyard playing soccer, Jason teaching them how to dig for worms and taking the fishing. I have a sign in our house that says,"Excuse the noise and the mess. The kids are busy making happy memories." If that means that my floor only gets mopped once a week...so be it.