Good-Bye. Hello.
Well, my parents started the trip back to Ojai tonight. They'll stay overnight somewhere, a few hours from here, and get home in the afternoon tomorrow. I'm sadder than usual about their departure. It was fun introducing them to everyone at the church plant and the mother church.
So I have this clean house.
It seems like an enormous opportunity to start some new habits and routines, to make it beautiful and keep order.
I've been shining my sink every night. My counters are bare and bright every morning. I put things away. I think I like it. I could live like this.
So now I just need to keep ignoring that stupid voice in my head that says it's all doomed to explode any minute. I really am improving. Just not as quickly as I'd like.
posted by Rebecca @ 8:55 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
I have been a flybaby for several years. . .it went pretty well when I was home, but when I went back to work things got a little more out of order. Here's the deal--when I start getting upset with myself, I have to stop and remember that since Feb. of 2002, I've changed LOTS of habits. I'm much better at giving away things we don't need. . .I have been done with Christmas shopping BEFORE THANKSGIVING of the past two years. I now realize that even though we THINK everyone is much neater and more organized than we are--they're not. There are a few souls out there who could have ANYONE walk into their home ANY time day or night and have it all look beautiful. . .or say, "Oh, this mess!" when there are only toys on the floor--but they are in the minority. Most of us have dirty dishes and dirty laundry and unkempt closets--and the work never goes away--it just renews itself each and every day.
So you lovely neatness probably WILL get un-neat at some point--but it won't explode right away--and sometime it will probably explode too--but you are making new habits that make it a lot easier to deal with it when it does.
One of the very few things I've ordered from FlyLady was her calendar--we use it religiously--even my husband does--the spaces are LARGE and ours is filled up all of the time. The other thing I got was the FlyLady cling. . .I have a couple of extra--so if I knew where you were I'd wing them to you. With my calendar came my "I am so proud of you." purple pen--it really writes in black--I was a little disappointed--but it's still very nice. So Flylady looks at me from my refrigerator and from my bathroom mirror and reminds me that "You don't need to catch up. Just jump in where you are." and "You can do anything for 15 minutes."
Enjoy the house. . .keep on shining that sink and making your bed (my sink is currently not shiny and my bed is not made, but you have inspired me to go and do it.)
Roxanne
You just keep it up, girl
Thanks, Roxanne. You're right. The mess really is inevitable. I need to work on my reaction to it, so I don't give up when it gets bad.
Yes, and Becky, we all have to remember that there are seasons to life. Ours is the season of young children who make messes. And most of the time all of the cleaning I do is happily undone before anyone has time to notice that it was done. But, as the couple at the camp reminds me (a sweet older couple) one day I will wake up and my heart will ache for the days when my babies ran around making messes. They will be grown up with kids making messes of their own, and then I will go over and clean house for one of them and reminisce about these days.
P.S. I love you, thanks for being my friend. My house is in disarray with boxes everywhere...less than two weeks until we move...
Thanks, Lis. I'm so excited for you to get settled and feel at home up there! If we come down to Ojai in September, I hope I can come and see it. We'll probably only be down for five or six days.
Yeah, I think I am still sort of wondering what we're doing...=) But I would love a visit!!!
Keep up the good work...one thing at a time : )
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