Beans on the ceiling.....

This is a picture of my actual ceiling. If you look very closely, you will see something brown that resembles and is in fact, a bean stain. You're thinking hmmm, how odd? Not in my world. Here's my rationale. On a whole, parenting in general is stressful on most days. Comparatively equated to a ride through hell...if you will. It becomes twice as hard when you do the majority of the job solo. However, that being said, being a mother is also the best thing that has ever happened to me. I realize that the coupling of responsibility and joy these children bring into my life isn't something that I can even begin to measure. This is one of those stories and a reminder of how blessed I am to be their mom. Enough sapp. Ok. One day after I had finished eating dinner (beans was one of the sides) I started the task of clearing off the table and dish rinsing. My two older children were still eating. Of course, my back was turned to them and I was focused on dishes and not paying much attention to what they were doing. The baby was crawling around the living room and I didn't have much time before I needed to go and grab him. After I left the room I kept hearing giggling coming from the table. The giggling did make me a little nervous (usually means mischief)  but I was pretty focused on our nightly rituals at that point, which includes: baths, snacks, teeth brushing and bedtime. Nothing out of the norm. The next morning at breakfast for no particular reason in general I happened to glance up at the ceiling. Me: Uhhhh, hey guys...what is that on the ceiling? Kids: What, what are you talking about? Me: I don't know...the brown bean that is now clearly obvious and stuck to the ceiling. What a coincidence...we had beans last night at dinner. Kids: Weird...I wonder how it got there? Me: Yeah, me too. Followed by an extreme amount of smiling/laughter all while trying to keep a straight face, until I finally started giggling too. To clarify...I did remove the bean, but when my dad came and repainted the ceilings of my house I told him the kitchen was ok and that he didn't need to paint it. This was hard for my wonderfully perfectionist father. Him: You have some sort of stain up there...you sure you don't want me to paint it? Me: No dad, it fine. Him: You sure? It won't take long. Me: Dad...thank you but leave the DAMN bean stain up there... please. Him: You girls drive me nuts. Me: I know dad...I know. Yes, when it comes to my children I am somewhat sentimental. Along the same line as probably why I don't mind little hand prints on my mirrors (yes they get cleaned) but it makes me smile. Also the same reason why when my last child takes a sharpie to the wall instead of painting over it..I am just going to stick an empty frame around it. He's the LAST one...yes, last. It's an act worth commemorating.

Conclusion: When I am having an OMG mom moment where I want to lock myself in the bathroom for a few minutes to escape the madness (and sometimes do)  I will remember that someday life will slow down. I will miss their laughter, their hand prints, their missing teeth under their pillows and even the damn Disney princess movies. I remind myself of that every time I see that bean stain on my ceiling. Life is too short. Kiss your little ones extra hard tonight and be thankful you have been given this opportunity. Not everyone has :)