My inlaws were here for the week.
A lot has changed in my life since the last time they were here and my mother-in-law noticed and commented.
A recipe fell behind the fridge and I said, "Well, I'll get it later. I need to clean under there anyway.
I don't use cloth napkins anymore. (I vowed I'd never use paper. O foolish vow.)
The floor considers itself quite lucky if it gets swept once a day instead of every time a crumb falls.
Is it that I don't care? No. . . not at all. I do still care about those things. I still love a clean house. I love making our home special. That's why I hung on to the stupid cloth napkin concept for so long. One day last summer I just realized it was ridiculous and unreal to expect that kind of idealistic perfection. I packed them all away, not able to bring myself to actually trash my hard work. Maybe someday.
Someday there won't be little fingerprints all over the windows.
The refrigerator will be cleaned (and organized) on a weekly basis.
I'll have time to coordinate cloth napkins and table linens.
The floors probably won't even need to be swept.
No one will go potty on me while I'm trying to pack people up to get to a Financial Peace University class that I'm attending alone even though I wasn't the one who signed up for it. (Ok, that was venting.)
But for now, welcome to my real world. Not perfect, just real.
So, my question is:
ReplyDeleteDoes it feel good to let go of some of those high expectations for a while?
Since my life involved two and then very shortly thereafter three kids, I have been forced to give up a lot of my expectations, judgments and at the root of it all, control.
It's hard and uncomfortable, and I still struggle daily... But, sometimes it does feel good just to let it all go...
Looking back at your life, would you rather remember the wonderful memories with your family, or that you had a clean house? Of course, your family moments! Don't even worry, of course you're chosing the right thing!
ReplyDeleteI told Josh last night that I'm going to be like a lady that I know who has 6 kids under 8. Her house isn't spic and span 24/7, she's not obsessive with her kids, and just lives a balanced life! As long as that doesn't "seep" into the area of discipline when I am raising children, all will be fine. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm working on it now... yes, our house is very clean when we have people over for Bible study. But I don't let my clutter bother me too much when people stop by unannounced. A few weeks ago the desk in our room ("my" desk) was piled HIGH with coupons scattered all over, various papers, a few articles of clothing, etc. We had some people over who insisted on going out to our sun room (through our bedroom). No problem - it probably SHOULD have bothered me that they saw such an irresponsible mess, but of course they were the ones who invited themselves, after all. I'm not what I used to be... :)