This I believe:
1. I enjoy life
2. I could be a better paremt
3. I love my family
4. freedom isn't free
5. we need to embrace challenges
6. in following your heart
7. without love we have nothing
8. fun is essential
9.a clean house isn't everything
10. childhood is the most precious thing we take for granted
11. that our karma follows us
12. interruptions stop the creative process
13. we do not need to be handed things, working makes you appreciate it more
14. kids today are spoiled
15. my husband loves me
16. i take on too much at once
17. we create our own destiny
18. pain makes you stronger
19. in living with no regrets
20. in the ability to achieve your dreams
21. happiness is the most important thing in life
22. marriage is sacred
23. that I am blessed
24. beauty hides under the surface
25. I need a vacation!
#9. A Clean House isn't Everything!
When I was growing up, my mother demanded an immaculately kept house. There were not any nic-nacs to dust, and the dishes were never supposed to be in the sink. I always felt like I was more of a maid living in a museum than a kid who lived in a house. After I moved out on my own, I let things go a bit. I was a teenager, still in High School when I got my first apartment, or you could call it a PIT! I developed a love for nic-nacs and other crap that I filled my house with, and it may have been nice if you could find it under the clutter and dust. I spent my time on the things that I found most important, and cleaning was not one of them. Sitting on the couch was always an adventure, you may find treasure as you were digging for a seat. Maybe I took things to a bit of an extreme, but at the time I was happy. Since this time of pure fun and irresponsibility in my life, I believe that I have reached a happy medium. Having kids and a husband that constantly leave things laying around, I do spend a large portion of each day collecting clothes and garbage from the floor and putting it where it belongs. My sink is often overfilled with dishes, that do eventually get done, but it is not the point of stress that it was for my mother. I would love to have my house be clean all of the time, but I do not base my own self-worth on the amount of dust on my mantle! If there is a choice between spending quality time with the ones I love and mopping the floor, I will choose my family. I have decided to develop what I call "clutter blindness." I see what I want to see despite the clutter, and I can be happy with it!
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I loved that! I agree with you. When my twins were about a year old, my husband came home from work mad that the house was a mess. I told him that it was more important for me to play with my kids then to fold the laundry. Now don't get my wrong, with twins there was a lot of cleaning to do. I did clean, felt like I did a lot of it. (Even if it didn't look like it!) But I wanted my kids to remember that when they wanted to play with mom, mom stopped and played.
ReplyDeleteMisty Hughes
Love hearing your insight into these things! I also love the name of your blog! I have two kids and my husband and I have finally come to a hapy medium about the house. He works fourten hour days and so I clean what I can during the week and he does whatever is left on the weekends. I definitely agree with Misty, I feel the same way about playing with my kids when they ask instead of telling them no just so I can clean something that I can clean when they go to bed. Time flies by way too fast and every moment counts!
ReplyDeleteWe seem to have grown up differently! I was raised messy, and after I moved out, I am now really clean. You found a nice medium, that's good. It's never good to be too messy or too clean. You are very clear in your writing and use nice examples. I was interested in reading this, and I'm glad I did.
ReplyDeleteI grew up pretty much the same way. My mother is a clean freak. I would help her all the time dust and vaccum. I remember laying in bed and at three o'clock in the morning hearing the vaccum start up. But sometimes it was dad just snoring. To this day I think my OCD is effects of this.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could learn to be a little less concerned with a messy house. Mine is not immaculate by any means but I spend so much time worrying about the little messes everywhere. My mother was never like that and I sometimes wonder if because I grew up in a messy house I chose to be the opposite. I envy people who can be a little more carefree and live a little.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds so familiar! Every weekend on Saturday morning my Mom would start in on my brother and I, “Clean this, clean that, pick your room up.” Everyone in our family would be in an uproar because she had to have everything perfect. I’d like to think that I’m a lesser version of my Mom. I DO like a clean house and clutter does bug me, but I don’t torment my family with it. My husband is very good at understanding my craziness and he helps tremendously
ReplyDeleteGrowing up, I was always pretty good about keeping my room clean. The rest of our house was usually clean because my mom too was a clean freak. Everything had it's own spot and I could always tell when someone had moved one of my things. On the other hand, if I was asked or told to clean my room I would do the complete opposite.
ReplyDelete