Moms have a lot on their plates every day.
Parents have a lot on their plates and rarely get a break because they have to juggle numerous tasks throughout the day, such as washing the kids’ sticky hands and faces, folding their laundry, making sure they have breakfast and lunch, and getting them ready for school.
No matter how hard they try, there’s bound to be some kind of disaster waiting around the corner, like a glass of milk knocked over, a toy you accidentally stepped on, or a stain somewhere.
Few mothers can afford the luxury of a short shower before turning in or taking some time for themselves.
Some things we take for granted as parents are touched upon in a recent piece by Heather Duckworth, a mother who has been through it all.
The messes kids make as they mature before our eyes into the persons we’ve always imagined they’ll become are an integral part of that process.
It’s important to remember that our children will look back on the messes we cleaned up as adults and use those memories as the greatest testament to the childhood we gave them, so it’s worth the effort to find the joy in the midst of the chaos.
Regrettably, not all women get to experience the turmoil and clutter that children create.
Likewise, not all parents are able to enjoy the joy that children bring into their lives.
The popular post by Heather titled “The Blue Stain” resonated with many new and expectant mothers.
Heather’s heart started pounding as she scrubbed the grout her daughter had formed with the slime, remembering the disaster she had to remove all those years ago.
After a long day of running around after her two-year-old triplets and four-year-old older brother, picking up toys, and making sure no one got hurt in the piles of laundry she couldn’t finish that day, this mother would reflect, “My hands were full, but so was my heart.”
Before turning in for the night, Heather and her two sons danced to the radio while they tidied up the playroom.
Nobody could have predicted that it would be the last time they laughed so hard for a while.
It was just as she was settling in for a good night’s sleep herself that she heard one of the lads remark, “Uh, Oh,” and she saw the huge blue stain that would haunt her dreams forever.
The pen one of the triplets was holding burst in his grasp, spraying ink everywhere. His hands, face, and pajamas were all blue, giving the impression that the tiny boy was a smurf.
While she watched, Heather felt like a bad mother and began to get angry.
She hadn’t been angry with her son, but she did hold herself responsible because she had left the pen where youngsters could easily access it. Her feelings got the best of her.
“I gasped as I saw blue splatters across the floor and a thick pool of ink sinking into our carpet – our brand new carpet. I quickly yelled for my husband, who had been doing the dishes, to come and help me. I instantly felt so upset as I grabbed my son and took him to the bathroom to clean him up and my husband started scrubbing those bright blue stains on our carpet.”
Heather’s feelings of annoyance and fury would always resurface whenever she saw the stain on the fresh new carpet. All the wonderful times she had with her sons were symbolized by the stain until the day it was finally removed.
The youngster who spilled blue paint on the carpet was diagnosed with cancer a month later, and he died two years later, leaving the stain as a memento of their time together.
“It was still there . . . and now . . . it was a constant reminder of my son. It was a constant reminder of my frustration over something so trivial . . . something so unimportant in the scheme of life.
That blue stain was a constant reminder that life is messy, but that’s what makes it worth living. A constant reminder to not sweat the small stuff. A constant reminder that ‘things’ aren’t important, but people are. A constant reminder that accidents happen. A constant reminder to let go of the little things and hang on tight to what is important.”
She tried to cover up the vivid blue stain with the furniture, but every time she cleaned the room, there it was, staring at her, reminding her of her loss and the sorrow she was still feeling.
Heather’s story is meant to remind us of how often we take life for granted and fail to appreciate the little things that give our lives meaning. She feels the need to inform all the moms out there that the dirty laundry and strewn about toys are what really make the house a place of comfort and safety for their families.
Those messes, made by the people who matter most to us, are what make our lives worthwhile, as Heather puts it, because there will come a day when we will miss those moments very much indeed. “I would have a million blue ink stains on my carpet if it meant I could have one more day with my son.”
Her advice to moms: don’t let yourself get so wrapped up in the world that you miss out on quality time with your kids. Life is too short to be wasted scrubbing stains, so prioritize what matters most!
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The latest pictures of Tom Selleck confirms what many of us suspected
Though the most gifted and affluent people are the ones who can afford to travel to Hollywood, it is the place where dreams come true.
Few people can boast of a good career in movies, but fortunately for us, Tom Selleck is one of those celebrities who has been on TV for a long time.
The main character of Thomas Magnum in Magnum, P.I. was this actor’s big break; he had five Emmy Award nominations for the series and won one in 1985.
But before being well-known, he appeared in several commercials, had a few small parts in TV shows and movies, and appeared twice on The Dating Game. He remembered the game show as “embarrassing and humiliating.” I was defeated. Two times. I wasn’t very witty or shrewd. After that, Selleck received an invitation to join 20th Century Fox’s talent program, where he stayed for about two years before taking a leave of absence to serve six months in the military. He was dropped when he got back, but it didn’t break him.
Selleck told AARP, “The best thing that happened was that I didn’t get a real job until I was 35.””I sounded 15 but looked 35 when I was 25 years old.” Many talented actors succeed as younger leading men but are never able to complete their education because the public does not view them as mature enough.
Magnum P.I. arrived just as he was about to give up on his dream of becoming an actor. In an interview with Closer Weekly, he said, “I think I would never have worked in this business again if Magnum hadn’t worked out.”
Since 2010, Selleck has shared screen time as co-star of the television series Blue Bloods, in which he portrays New York City Police Department commissioner Frank Reagan. The thirteenth season of the program has been renewed.
Selleck has performed the majority of the stunts himself throughout the course of his lengthy career, but it turns out that this choice has had an impact and his physique has changed.
Selleck said, “My back’s kind of messed up.”
“You take a risk when you perform stunts in movies, and I do a lot of them, but you also spend a lot of time sitting still. You may perform a fight scene, then sit in your chair. It’s not as though a personal trainer tells you, “Okay, let’s go, but let’s stretch and warm up for ten minutes, Tom.”
Additionally, he said, “I think the price; I see it with peers and sometimes talk to them.” Just look at how much all those antics cost. They weren’t too difficult, but I believe the stop-and-go nature of it all is the problem.
The actor works out on his Ventura, California ranch to stay in shape. In addition, he has a strong love for horses that he instilled in his daughter.
Selleck and Jillie Mack have been wed for thirty-five years. He consistently prioritizes his family, which is what makes their marriage among the best in Hollywood.
In a 2012 interview with People, Schleck stated, “I left Magnum to start a family.
“I try very hard to have balance, and this ranch has helped me do that,” the man said after it took a while to get off the train.
His wife continued, “We both felt it was the best environment for Hannah to grow up in.”
We hope for Tom Selleck’s good health.
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