My sister-in-law loves making messes. Last summer, as she played with her children and mine in a bubble mixture that seriously makes the coolest bubbles, she said, “I love bubbles. They’re therapeutic.”
I shook my head as I eyed my three-year-old son who chose not to use the bubble wand his aunt, aka Zia, provided him, but instead to smear the bubble mixture all over the table, up and down his arms, and across his cheeks. At least we were outside.
The month prior to the bubble escapades, she sent a picture of Hobby Lobby’s display of “throw paint balls.” She stated, “So, I think we should buy these throw paint balls for the kids and then take their pics afterwards.” A couple weeks later, she texted an image of 50+ cans of colorful hairspray she offered to share with her nieces and nephews. Zia is also the one who loves to decorate Easter eggs with every possible color and make Christmas ornaments with so much glitter the Trolls would be proud.
My children are so lucky to have her as an aunt. She has created more childhood smiles and messy memories for our family than we could ever count!
As a mom and as a teacher, I know children need to make messes with paint, water, glitter, mud, markers, bubbles, sand, play dough, and especially slime—a new favorite past time for my daughters. I let my children make messes, often thinking to myself, Zia would pull the aunt card and tell them yes! I can’t let Zia out-do Mom!
I hate the mess, but once it’s cleaned up, I always love having made the mess.
It’s the messes in our lives that make for the best writing content. My children love to write pieces about their experiences, and so many of their favorite childhood memories begin with one of Zia’s ideas.
It’s the messes in life that make the best stories, whether they’re the messes kids make, or the messes we get ourselves into throughout our lives. Regardless of the content, messes make memories, memories that must be written, recorded, and cherished.
NOTE: I find it comical that I crafted much of this blog post on a napkin before finishing the content on my laptop. I hoped to take a picture of that napkin and post it, but it has disappeared.