So, I have all of these ideas and ideals of what my house, car, kids, yard my self and even my blog should look like. Do any of the real things resemble the ideals or the ideas? No way. Does this bug me? Yep. What am I going to do about it? I really don't have a clue.
Because the time has all gone away. I will admit that I vacillate (see? I still know some big words) between thinking I should spend all of my time being mommy. The poem that says "...cleaning and scrubbing can wait 'til tomorrow..." would sum up my philosophy on life. The stacks of papers that need to be gone through can wait. The dust on the end tables...who cares? As long as the big stuff is swept up and the dishes are done once a day...what does it matter?
Then there are days like today! Today I see all of the messes as if through one huge magnifying glass. Ugh. The ideals come back.
I want to have a home I'm proud of. I should be able to hold my head up high as a housewife, right? I don't want my kids to ever ever be ashamed if someone comes over and sees our home. If someone drops by (although in our society today that is pretty rare I guess) I want to be able to welcome them in with a smile. Not frantically wondering what they will see that I didn't clean up, pick up or throw away. Worse than that...what will they smell!?
I am after all a housewife (aka Stay at home mom, aka domestic goddess--ha ha). And to be a successful housewife you should follow these instructions, right?
But where is my lipstick? Yep. The (now) 3 year old used it all up on her face.
So, how can I freshen my lipstick before he comes home? He being the king of this (very small, messy) castle? Besides, if you wear lipstick it gets really messy kissing your babies. So, what is a mom to do when she wants her house to look neat and smell...passable? Ok, so I could take the trash out. I think one of the biggest answers is to clean out the clutter. We have a very small house for the size of our family (at least by today's standards). I laughed when a couple that is planning their wedding and life said the house they are buying is small. They have never been married before, therefore have no children. The house is 1500 square feet. Ha. That's not small. I can show you small. We are a family of 6 living in 1000 square feet. So, here goes nothing! I must get on this project! I feel no peace in all this mess. I'm going to *gasp* take some before and after pics. Because I want my work to really show. I want everyone to know what I've spent my time on. My energy. My (former) naptimes!!!!!
It might be slower going than for some people because I do have a baby (that is right now screaming-but that's because he chose not to nap today) and I do have to educate my children. The plan is to go through every room and evaluate what needs to be gotten rid of then do it. Garage sale in a couple of weeks! Woohoo!
2 comments:
Cara - I am in the middle of the same kind of project. I set goals for myself, (4) 1-month goals and (4) 2-month goals. I've been announcing my progress on Facebook and will likely do a blog post about it sometime soon. I have some major housework ahead of me in the next few months, and at times I feel overwhelmed. And I only have ONE preschooler, not an infant, a preschooler and 2 older homeschooled kids! So whenever you feel discouraged, remember that you are not "just a housewife"; you are a mother, a teacher, a chauffer, a short-order cook, a wife, a laundress, and many, many other things. Of course you can't have all the jobs done perfectly all the time - nobody could! Hang in there, and you will accomplish your goals, one step at a time. Even if they're baby steps :-)
Awww. Thanks! :) I sometimes need the reminder of why I "don't accomplish much" to the untrained observer. ;)
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