As I almost tripped over the rainbow of crayons all over my living room rug this morning, I wanted to yell, but I bit my tongue.

When my daughter went to sharpen her pencil this morning and then emptied the little thing that catches the shavings all over my kitchen floor, I wanted to yell, but I bit my tongue.

When my youngest daughter squeezed her juice box and it trickled all over my hardwood floor, I really wanted to yell, but I bit my tongue.

When I looked around my house this morning and saw the mounds of Halloween candy and other goodies all over my counter, I could feel myself getting frustrated, but I took a deep breath.

As I took in the sights of my house and the tornado that it’s become lately, I could feel myself getting annoyed, but again I took a deep breath.

When I thought about all the cleaning that didn’t get done this weekend because we were too busy having fun, I could feel myself starting to twitch, but I took an ever deeper breath.

I guess you could say I had an epiphany of sorts.

I began to think that one day there won’t be any crayons to pick up. There won’t be any messes to clean. My house may actually look more like a sunny day than a hurricane. There won’t be any mounds of candy because the girls will be too old for trick-or-treating. Instead, they’ll be off to parties wearing costumes that need ten times more fabric and doing things that teenagers do (sigh). I’ll have new headaches and wish for the days when my biggest problem was too much candy in the house.

Instead of picking up pencil shavings, I’ll be picking up the pieces of broken hearts caught in the crossfire of teenage drama. Instead of drippy juice boxes, I’ll be worrying about all the other drinks out there that my girls need to stay away from (sigh).

If you’re like me and you tend to sweat the stuff and stress and that comes along with having little ones in the house…don’t. Enjoy it and embrace it. It’s not to say that you should let your house get to “Hoarders” status, but you don’t have to freak out about every little mess. Take it from a former pre-children “neat freak”.

I’m beginning to really think that these are the “fun” days that everyone tells you will go by too fast. One day you’ll be sitting home handing out Halloween candy just wishing you were still out there trick-or-treating.

So, the next time there are crumbs sprinkled all over your rug or scribbles all over your wall, remember that one day there won’t be any crayons to pick up.