In Acceptance lies Peace

It is not the definition of 'peace' I once knew.

The definition of peace I refer to goes something like this:

PEACE: The attitude of allowing the small stuff of life to be what it will be: imperfect. 

To cease and desist from clinging to the expectations that my world will be

calm,

ordered,

efficient

and convenient

during the majority of waking {and sleeping!} hours.

***

For those of you who appreciate visual illustrations of a definition,

here you go:

PEACE: Every nook and cranny of my body was begging to stay in bed, and trying it's best to ignore the blaring, scratchy sound of country music blaring from the room down the hallway at 6AM this morning. The little boy that slipped into the darkness of the "Master Suite" and excitedly proclaimed,

" Mom, Dad! There is a DANCE party in my room! Can you hear it from here???"

forced my body to rise above it's desire to stay put and address the enthused youth. I reluctantly got my behind out of bed and yet again confront the fact that there is, and never has been, such a thing as a 'gradual wake up'. I have begun to accept it, and embrace the fact that they are making memories with each other, without our help, and someday I will miss it fiercely.

{Picture taken with husband's itouch, which he uses as a bedside alarm}.

PEACE: Accepting the fact that the Apple Struesel muffins you made to go with your coffee can taste just as good in a plastic Target Dollar Bin Seaseme Street bowl as they would on fine bone China. Lukewarm coffee enhances the experience, and although the microwave could make it hot again, it's not worth the risk that, yet again, you'll stick in there and only find it when you go to nuke the sweet peas for dinner.

PEACE: Accepting that common household chores can be done with considerable more speed and efficiency if one does it themselves. Yet when one considers the fun and confidence it inspires in little souls that long to be big helpers, sometimes (NOTE: I have omitted the word ALWAYS) the mess and prolonged process is utterly worth it.

PEACE: The resignation to the fact that the piles of miscellaneous 'stuff' that has no other designated space under the roof will always  find a way to accumulate on  precious counter space, no matter how many cute baskets  or other disguises one plops upon the counter to mask the misfit items that one's husband WILL find in the trash if you throw it away because you don't care to take the time to make arrangements for it all.

PEACE: Accepting the fact that ALL mothers (even the sweet-voiced, long suffering ones of whom I truthfully don't really like) sometimes loose their heads. Even Precious Moments ones. Gratefully, little children have an immense propensity for mercy towards their mothers.

PEACE: Acceptance that Free-range play most often equals Huge-fat mess.



PEACE: Into our lives (mama or not) piles of 'junk' can be dumped or accumulated.

This is not as rare as we think it is. It's just that we aren't usually privy to the kitchen floors (or hearts) of those around us at any given moment. The mess is there, and it can be cleaned up. I was tempted to make my son clean up this ever growing pile he made all by himself. But upon further consideration, I think it would be better to show the grace he shows me when I've messed up by blowing my top and instead help him scoop it up and put it back in it's place. This is my response right now, but it's not always my response (just so you know!).

PEACE: The face of a little child enjoying life among the imperfections.

It has been slowly dawning upon me that the sooner I get over myself, the less tension motherhood (or any kind of 'hood' you find yourself in!) produces. Don't get me wrong, I do not live in a constant state of "Que Sera Sera". But with the volume of children and the 'chaos' that produces, I am left with a pretty clear choice of either staying uptight or letting life happen and realizing that PEACE comes when my attitude says "You know what? This is really just not that big of a deal. It's not about me. Stop and see that they are enjoying life and step out of the way."

As it has been said,

In acceptance lies PEACE.

I now know what that means.

For me.

What does that mean for you?