Everything I do gets undone.

It took me three hours to fold five loads of laundry today. THREE HOURS. I had help, you see. Once the madness of folding was over, I finished putting the last pile for the day back in its drawers. That’s when I looked over at the laundry basket in my daughter’s closet… it was already full again.

“Well, that good feeling only lasted a couple of seconds,” I thought to myself.

I walked out into the living room and gasped. Just earlier that morning I had folded the blankets and returned the stuffed animals to the kids’ rooms and picked up all the sippy cups. And just like magic, they were all back there again – right where I hadn’t left them.

Just then I looked over at the kitchen floor. It was covered in crumbs and glitter. I saw the baby picking up tiny pieces and putting them in his mouth, so I quickly picked him up, scooped whatever it was out that was in his mouth and got to sweeping. Just as I was emptying the dustpan into the trash, my three year old walked up behind me and asked if I could read her a book… as she bit into a graham cracker and crumbs scattered in the floor.

And those toilet bowls that were so sparkly after I cleaned them last night? They have skid marks in them now.

And the “clean eating” diet that I started this morning? Yeah, those thin mints that were in the freezer earlier are now in my belly. Even my healthy intentions don’t stand a chance.

And sometimes I wonder… does anyone even really notice what I do? Do they see my efforts? Do they recognize all the times I’m on the floor scrubbing baby puke out of the carpet or picking up the blocks or folding the socks or straightening up the shoes?

Undone. That seems to be the mantra of my life right now.

And yet, the one thing that seems to silently come undone the easiest is my heart. Some days my work for my family seems mundane and insignificant. And as much as I try, I don’t always serve the people in my house with gladness. Sometimes they drive me crazy! But at the end of the day as I wipe down my counters and put away the last of the toys, I remind myself that while this season of my housework constantly being undone is temporary, teaching my heart to let go of unrealistic expectations is forever. And so is expecting my family to recognize and affirm every tiny thing I do – it just isn’t… realistic.

So keep on doing all the things you do, mama friend. And when you get overwhelmed when you see your work getting undone, take a deep breath, grab a thin mint from the freezer, and do it all again. Your work is SO important!