Want your home to have that lovely banana bread smell but don’t want to go to all the trouble of making bread or spend money on those fancy candles? I recommend making oatmeal with bananas and cinnamon for your children and then get distracted until the oatmeal burns to the bottom of the pan. It makes a lovely smell, if you don’t mind the clean-up. Just another helpful hint from Maralee’s Kitchen.
These are the days I realize I am not the mom I pictured myself becoming. When I see my beautiful china laying untouched month after month. When it occurs to me that I’ve become dependent on the dog to clean up the food under the table. When I can’t find the saucepan lid, wooden spoon or the dishtowel and eventually find them in the toy box. When I reach for my toothbrush and instead find an opened Nestle Crunch bar that someone left on the bathroom counter. These are the days I can’t IMAGINE how God intends for me to show hospitality to anyone else.
I know some of the answer revolves around me becoming a better housekeeper, but I’m coming to accept that I am in a season where my little ones can make a mess much faster than I can clean it. So is it possible for me to stop being so self-conscience about the state of things around here and just reach out a hand to someone who might be feeling that same sense of laundry drowning I’m struggling with? Can I put aside my pride about the kind of mom I’d like to pretend I am and instead show some love to a mom who might be ministered to by seeing another real mom in action? I’m not sure how it will feel, but I want to try. I was blessed by a friend who wanted to stop over and when I told her what a mess things were she told me that if she came by it didn’t look just as I described it, then I could forget about her bringing coffee. I have my pride, but I love coffee more so I resisted the urge to tidy. It meant so much to me that she loved me in my mess. Now I want to be showing that love to others.
And here’s my desperate plea to you moms whose children are now old enough to be truly helpful and your house doesn’t look like a tornado ran through it most hours of the day- anybody want to have me over for coffee?