Sad Cries from a Clean House (by Bridget)

I have had a couple of opportunities the past few months to ponder a conclusion I never thought I would come up with.
Bethany's grandparents have taken turns keeping her for an extended period of time while Steve and I are at home, with no real plans. So here I sit, for the second time now, in my clean, fresh smelling house, and I'm overwhelmed by a sense of emptiness. The first time Bethany was away, I walked into the living room one night and said to Steve in all seriousness, "the house has a funny smell to it". To this he responded, "clean!". It's true, when Bethany is away my house sparkles with freshness and order, something I always seem to long for; so why the empty feeling?
Then I notice the sticky fingerprints on the bottoms of our windows, and I recall her hands and face pressed upon the glass, screaming with delight, "look mommy, a lizard!" or "airpane, mommmy, airpane!" or "bird, mommy, see?, a bird!". Believe it or not I start to miss the hazardous mess that she creates on the floor from throwing every toy out of the basket in a tazmanian devil sort of way, just to get the little trinket on the bottom that she ends up tossing after 15 seconds of good playtime.
In no way would I trade this time away from Bethany. I know it is priceless for her and her grandparents, not to mention me and steve, but I am starting to realize the sweetness of a messy house. It means Bethany is home, and exploring, and growing up way faster than I ever thought possible! So next time you hear me complaining about my messy house, I would appreciate a quick reprimand to remind me of the emptiness that comes with clean...