staying sane amidst the mundane is an online journal written by melanie. You can find the staying sane amidst the mundane archives here or access all of Blissfully Domestic’s online journals here.

I’m trying to learn to hold on loosely to our possessions now that we have kids.  My daughter was very excited the other day.  She was making a card for each one of our guests who was coming to dinner.  “What a thoughtful, caring daughter I have,” I thought absentmindedly as I tried to finish getting everything ready for our guests.

“Look, Mom!  Do you like them?”  All of a sudden what she was showing sunk in to the part of brain that actually notices things.  “Is that permanent marker?”  Our dining room table may never be the same.  All her hard work bled through her beautiful cards to remain with us forever on the surface of the table.

Another time a fight over popcorn led to the shattering of a favorite bowl.    Our “good” living room furniture set is now our only furniture so the abuse of three kids is taking its toll.

A happy home isn’t one that is picture-perfect, right?  I want to teach my kids the value of taking care of one’s possessions, but I also don’t want to be so materialistic that we can’t enjoy the possessions we have.  Someday I will have my dream dining room and living room sets.  Until then, hopefully people will graciously recognize that permanent marker can be its own kind of decoration.

Photo by magicmirror