Don't clean - go play!

I was sweeping the kitchen floor after dinner and feeling overwhelmed by the mess in the house with  Papabird working late. That is when my 2 boys raced outside to  kick a ball around.

This struck me as odd because usually after dinner they get a bit of electronic time. They did
 not even ask, they just wanted to play outside. This was even after playing outside for 2.5 after school.

They are always asking me to play with them but my response is usually "I do not have time" all I could hear in my head as they were playing was:

(A fellow mom made this card for me, it was taped to the inside of my planner for awhile)

So I left my pile of crumbs on the floor set the broom down and went right outside.

They were so excited that I was going to play them...

Yes, Duck decided to take of his boots and play in socks, Sigh! I need to buy stain remover in bulk!!!

We had so much fun.

We laughed

We ran

We even fell down, all of us! My ankle still hurts to walk on today. As an extra bonus I got in 30 extra minutes of exercise according to my fitbit I burned 180 calories. Good things because my ankle is so sore today my workout is going to be quite light!

I look at my now 16 year old and am reminded everyday how quickly time passes. I really do love a clean house but before I know it my house will be clean and empty with grown kids who have moved out.

I know all too soon I will long for the days that my kids were little and the house was messy.