You can have the most ideal Mother’s Day planned in your head like sleeping in late, not cooking a single meal, not cleaning a single dish, walking into a perfectly clean house that wasn’t cleaned by you. But honestly, is that even realistic when you’re in the thick of mothering tiny kids? LOL. NO.

One day, Mother’s Day probably will look more like that. But right now, Mother’s Days with tiny children still come with the chaos, the mess, and the constant need to “mother” even on MoThEr’S DaY.

When I really think about it, most of the Mother’s Days ahead of us will be spent with grown children who are independent and no longer creating big messes in our house everyday. Keeping that perspective helps me lean fully into the mothering part of Mother’s Day without the pressure of it having to feel "ideal". And somehow, that makes it even more beautiful.

Because these chaotic little moments are fleeting fast, and one day they’ll be the very things we miss most.

So for now, the Mother's Day weekend plans are being kicked off with making butterflies out of pipe cleaners, finding pom poms scattered all over the floor, getting glitter glue stuck in our hair, and digging kinetic sand out of the ridges of the wood floor. (Kinetic sand keeps my toddler entertained for literally an hour but my gosh I underestimated how messy it was) Through it all, there are little arms wrapped around me, sweet cuddles, and so much love filling this home.

And really… isn’t that the joy of being a mother?