There are always cups in my sink.

My washer and dryer stay full for days at a time.

The bathtub is never not full of toys.

The dining room table forever hides underneath the steady pile of clothes I plop on top of it.

Dog hair lines my floors.

Fingerprints decorate every window and door in my home.

It's been a grossly long amount of time since I've cleaned the inside of my microwave or fridge.

I don't wash my family's bedsheets nearly as often as I should.

There's always a cup of milk hiding and curdling somewhere.

Baseboards. Don't look at my baseboards.

My couch has been peed on by both dogs and kids.

Every blanket in my home is covered in crumbs.

I have a five-year-old boy, so that's all I have to tell you about the bathrooms in my house.

And so, you can gather from all that I've shared here that it wouldn't behoove me to invite a camera crew into my home, or really anyone for that matter.

But, I'm happy you have you over; you, my friend who doesn't judge.

My friend who doesn't care if she and her kids are walking into an HGTV beauty or four dirty-ish walls with a roof that has been overrun by the tiny tykes that inhabit it.

My friend who comes in and tells me how much she loves my place, despite the mess she happens upon just past the front door.

My friend who doesn't care if we have to sit on the floor 'cause my kids' have placed their stuffed animals in "timeout" on every piece of furniture I own.

My friend who will be kind enough to instruct her children not to make a mess with the snacks, but cleans up after them when they do.

My friend, who accepts my chaos, adds her own to the mix and then both commiserates and laughs with me about it.

My friend, who makes me feel like I don't have to apologize for what this stage of parenting has done to me and my home.

My friend,

who will see those cups in my sink,

and without being asked,

will wash them.

I'm grateful for the friends I can be messy with, and if you don't have any of those, find some because they're a godsend.