I was reading unopened emails in my inbox when I came across one from my daughter-in-law Alexis where she had written a guest blog post for me to be able to use on a day I was busy and needed help. Given that she’d sent the unopened email to me clear back on June 6th and I was just now opening it was a pretty good indication that I needed help… Here’s Alexis’ message (for context she was nine months pregnant still when she sent this):

Question Your Way Of Thinking (guest blog post written by Amy’s daughter-in-law Alexis Anderson)

As I was finishing getting ready this morning, I suddenly heard an ear piercing scream from the kitchen and my little boy yelling “Mom!” He had just been in my room watching his Netflix show 5 minutes ago so I couldn’t help but wonder what on earth he could possibly have done this time. I walked into our kitchen to see him sitting on the kitchen table COVERED in salt. Him and the table. I didn’t get angry. I didn’t yell or get after him (of which I am extremely proud of). Instead, I grabbed the broom and vacuum and started cleaning up the mess he had just made.

While I was sweeping– and not even sure if I was getting any of it off our beautiful white/gray floors, since every step I could feel more on my feet– I found myself thinking about having our next baby and the thought passed through my mind: this is why they say, “don’t have kids.” I then found myself thinking, “this is why I shouldn’t have left salt on the table.” It changed my perspective on the entire situation, and I was able to redirect my frustrations from Flynn to myself. I then found myself thinking about how this very phrase keeps people from having kids. Having kids teaches you to change your perspective and become more of a person, not less. As I’ve raised Flynn with my husband, I am grateful for the chance I have to be a mom. Even though it is absolutely crazy sometimes! There is beauty to be found everyday, and I will make the sacrifice 4 more times (5 I guess including this pregnancy), right Dalton? 😉

The lesson I learned today was profound for me. Children force us to constantly question our own way of thinking. They teach us to turn outward instead of inward. Although I could’ve done without the salt, sometimes a bit of a mess is what we need to broaden our perspectives.

Here’s the picture of our little salt monster in the mess he made:

—Thanks Alexis for sharing that story!

~Amy Rees Anderson (my new book “What Awesome Looks Like: How To Excel in Business & Life” is available on Amazon)