Gone Too Soon

A clean and orderly home has always been important to me. But one day recently, while everyone else was at work or school and everything was in its place, I realized that having the children’s toys picked up and their rooms cleaned troubled me somewhat, though I didn’t understand why.

Then one day when that troubled feeling came again, a small, gentle voice in my heart said, “There are no signs of your children.”

I realized that I longed to see the children playing with dolls or crayons, or practicing music that didn’t quite seem to flow into a recognizable tune. There was no nightgown or hairbrush on the stairs that seemed to say to me, “Hi, Mom. I was just running a little late this morning. I’ll be home later to pick these up.” There was no pile of toy cars and blocks that seemed to say, “I was very involved in designing this space station, and bedtime was here before I knew it. I’ll be home after school to pick it up. Love you.”

When my husband came home that evening, I told him what I had discovered. I said I did not intend to let the house get really messy, but that our children’s belongings here and there were some of the most beautiful sights I knew.

“The children will be gone all too soon,” I told him, “and we’ll miss their treasures on the stairs and the pain of stepping on little cars with bare feet.”

My husband smiled and I knew we both understood and agreed.—Sandra Bowlan, Muskogee, Oklahoma