Lazy Parenting

I read a blog post a couple weeks ago that spoke about the current trend of lazy parenting.  Of course I can't find it, but trust me when I say it was a really good post.  The post got me thinking though about the blogs I follow.  Yes, they are funny.  I love self deprecating humor and certainly reading about chaos in someone else's home can be good comic relief. 

But....

It also got me thinking about what kind of role model I want to be for my girls.  I grew up with very different parents.  My dad is a very neat person, always cleaning the house, doing yardwork, etc.  My mom never cleans her house unless we give her 6 months notice that we are coming to visit.  Unfortunately I did not inherit my dad's housekeeping skills. 

I think there are more important things in life than having a super clean house.  Playing with my girls, reading to them, taking walks in the evening, planting flowers are more important than spending my entire day cleaning and doing laundry.

But...

I don't agree with the current blog trend of lazy parenting.  I want my girls to see that our house is fit for company.  I want them to see my being productive and balancing work with play.  I want them to grow up to be responsible citizens who care about other people.  I'm not saying that the children of those bloggers who talk about how much they hate parenting or how tired they are won't grow up to be awesome people.  I'm sure they probably will. 

But...

I want to leave my girls with a legacy other than reading about how mommy wants to drink wine or sleep for a year (and yes an uninterrupted night of sleep would be amazing) or sarcastic comments about a lack of parenting or house cleaning skills. 

So...

I am finding balance.  I am pushing myself to keep my house fit for company.  You may not be able to eat off the floors, but you won't kill yourself tripping over a toy or see a dust bunny rolling by either.  You will see flowers planted around our house and you will see a play area or two or three.  There will be baby blankets covered in spit up on the couch during the day, but they'll be put in the laundry at night.  The beds might not get made every day, but they won't be covered in clean laundry either.  The dishes will get done at night because I hate waking up to a sink full of dirty dishes. 

And yes, there may be days that our lives are filled with chaos and I may talk about it on Facebook, but there will also be calm among that chaos.  I want to be the mom that my girls grow up and can say, "Wow.  I had a great mom," and mean it.