You might think your house is a mess. You might think it’s looking a little dated. You might be a little embarrassed to have people over.

But you shouldn’t be. Your house looks that way because you have kids. You’ve got better things to do. You’ve got a whole different sensibility you’re expressing.

A journalist covering Theodore Roosevelt’s administration noted how the introduction of kids back to the residence had “done more to bright and cheer the White House than a whole army of decorators,” and just how lovely it was to hear “the merry prattle of children echoing through the corridors.” And so it goes with our own homes.

Our remodel is the fort in the living room. Our transition spaces are piles of hockey gear and cleats. Our landscaping is bikes on their side and things written in chalk on the sidewalk. We pull the bathroom together with a little stool so they can reach the sink. Our appliances are covered in art and school pictures.

That’s how we freshen our place up. That’s how we make our house a home.

P.S. I’m hitting the road this summer and fall, talking Stoicism all over the world. Join me in Detroit, Nashville, and a bunch of other cities across the US, Australia, and New Zealand.

We’ll do a deep dive into the four Stoic virtues of courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom, and how we can apply these to the real situations we face as people—and parents—every day.

For details and tickets, go to dailystoiclive.com. I’ll see you out there!