This is our den on Christmas morning. There are no "after" pictures.

This daily battle is over.

I no longer am fighting the urge to keep my house spotless because it's Christmas and trying to keep everything clean to give my family the Norman Rockwell image to remember. Nor am I letting the housework go because I want my family to have these beautiful experiences of baking cookies, wrapping gifts and sipping hot chocolate while we enjoy the glow of the season.

Is it a real battle? Or did I make that up? What's important? Now that Christmas is long past, can you even remember what you did on many days during December? Were you purposeful in your days or did you let each day fall out as it could?

Christmas isn't the only time I fight that fight. Do I stay very strict and keep the house running smoothly, or do I throw up my hands and and let the laundry land where it lands? I often battle the "idol" of order in my home.

Hopefully, my children will remember a balance. They'll remember being allowed to have fun in our home, but not being embarrassed to bring their friends inside. We live in our home and we live hard, and there's no one going to be eating off of our floors. The bedroom can't be a fire trap, but I may need to keep the doors closed more than I'd like.

Stacks of books mean people are interested in things. Toys mean that children are allowed to do their "work." Laundry on the sofa for a week? Well, that's when I start to get uneasy with myself. It's all about balance. Norman Rockwell didn't paint the picture of a messy house for a reason.

There's no Norman Rockwell theology here, just a message to myself about balance. Next week I'll be dreaming of dusted furniture and Abigail will probably still be riding her bicycle in the house.