Spilt Milk

We’ve all likely heard the adage, “no need crying over spilt milk”. Years ago, I read a story somewhere, about some brilliant man, that gave me an entirely new perspective on the milk messes in our lives.

(If you know who this story belongs to, please let me know! I honestly can’t remember and Google was no help. I’ll retell this to the best of my memory and add credit when I find it.)

As a young child he attempted to take a gallon of milk from the fridge and pour a glass. The gallon was too heavy for his tiny fingers to adequately maneuver and he dropped the gallon, spilling it all over the floor. As his mother walked in, he was embarrassed by what he had done. She knelt down and said “I know you didn’t mean to make the mess but since it’s already here, we can play in it a while before we clean it up if you’d like to?”

And so, that’s just what they did. When finished with their good time, she brought over a sponge and bucket and they cleaned it up together. I can’t remember the rest of their talk or what he learned from the milk that day but I’ll never forget the premise(s). There’s so many to glean from that. The bigger for me at the time was “Don’t make a big deal over your kids little messes!”. Since, I’ve carried that story into many areas of my life… I’m so thankful the story was told.

Make the best of every situation or mishap, in the moment. Don’t wait.

You can learn from anything.

Children, especially, need the freedom to mess up, so do adults.

Things are never more important than people, watch how you react.

Use every opportunity you’re given to explore and play.

As adults, we need to show our children that mistakes can sometimes be great opportunities.

And so many others…

When my children make a huge mess, I’d love to say that I joyfully join in with a beautifully sincere attitude and smile. I don’t always though. I’m still messing up today. I’m still apologizing for things I knew better than to do or say. And you know what? That’s okay. When I miss it, they at least see me apologize and I hope that my messes are showing them it’s okay for them to do the same.

After all, there’s no sense crying over spilt milk.