Rainbows and Roses

There are two baskets full of clean laundry sitting on the floor in the family room. They've been there for four days. We've clawed through them several times this week looking for clean underwear and swimsuits.

The sink is full of dirty (though rinsed, yes, they've been rinsed) dishes that just need to be moved from the sink to the dishwasher. Those dishes have been there for two days.

The fish has been swimming in a bowl of her own poop for days now, waiting for me to clean her bowl and change her water.

The carpets in the family room and the living room haven't been vacuumed for at least three days.

Last night, instead of doing all the things above, I took the girls swimming at the community pool after work.

It was wonderful. The water was cool enough to refresh us but warm enough not to shock us. We were all starving when we got home a little after 8:00 but it was a good hungry, a satisfied feeling. The spontaneous trip to the pool put us all in relaxed, happy frames of mind.

This morning I told Alyssa that we needed to go down and get her some underwear out of the basket downstairs.

She met my gaze in the mirror, "Again?"

I shrugged. "I didn't have time to put the laundry away. You could have put your underwear away if it's that important."

She gasped! How dare I suggest she do such a menial chore?

Then I reminded her, "I could have stayed here last night and put the laundry away but instead we went swimming. Which do you prefer?"

She grinned, "Swimming!"

Swimming it was.

And it was worth it.

Yes, the laundry still needs to be put away. The dishes need to be washed. The fishbowl needs to be cleaned. The floors need to be vacuumed.

And those things will get done but maybe not all tonight. Maybe one of the above chores will be done. Maybe more. Maybe none. Depends on whether I find something more important to do. Maybe I'll side and read to Olivia or listen to Alyssa give me a word-for-word re-enactment of today's Word Girl episode.

Or maybe we'll go swimming again.

Sometimes, you have to embrace the rainbows and the roses and ignore the storms that bring the rainbows and the thorns on the roses' stems.

Sometimes, just being, just taking it all in, just jumping feet first into the pool is more important than all the laundry, dishes, fishbowls (ick!) and vacuuming in the world.

Those chores will still be there. There will always be more chores to be done and sometimes, we can even make those things fun but these kids won't be little forever and they won't want to spend hours upon hours telling me stories, listening to me tell them stories, wanting to swim next to me in the pool.

So yesterday, today and tomorrow I'm going to hold tight to the rainbows and roses, drink it all in and maybe the day after tomorrow I'll put that laundry away.

Maybe.