These Little Piggies...



These little piggies have been living in a pig sty. We used to have a great cleaning routine. A weekly list of particular chores that happened on a weekly basis. I actually used to dust our house each week. Then, this became an every-other-week cleaning routine. Not quite the standard I was hoping for, but the house was staying basically clean. With this pregnancy, we have resorted to the "when-is-the-next-time-we're-having-company" cleaning routine. (Thankfully we have our fair share of company, so haz-mat has never been required...)

Sophie had a lovely way of reminding me that we have adopted a new system. She walked into her bathroom, which I was furiously cleaning, took one look at me, and said, "Let me guess. You're getting ready for Aunt Pammie!" Yes, indeed, my cleaning the upstairs bathroom can only signal one thing - somebody's coming!

House-keeping creates a very real tension in my life. I truly love a clean house. I actually, physically feel better and certainly feel much more peaceful when our home is clean and organized. I just know I am more pleasant to be around. Until...I try to insist on keeping the house clean. Then I am absolutely positive that I am much less pleasant to be around. So, I try to take a more relaxed approach, which works pretty well, until it doesn't. Once we reach pig sty state, I then become Atilla the Hun. I have not yet found the right balance.

So, currently I'm reading three books (because, of course, reading books helps your house get cleaned up...) Keeping House: The Litany of Everyday Life by Margaret Kim Peterson, In the Midst of Chaos by Bonnie Miller-McLemore, and If Mama Goes South, We're All Going With Her by Lindsey O'Connor. Do you sense a theme?

All kidding aside, I am finding that, for me, and this may not be true for many others, finding inspiration or a new take on an old problem is encouraging. I haven't been motivated to clean the house from top-to-bottom, but then that isn't really my goal. I am hoping to change my outlook on the work God has given me, and consequently change my actions. Small steps so far. But hey, that upstairs bathroom is sparkling! And with Pammie's visit just around the corner, I predict the piggies will be in a somewhat cleaner sty by the weekend!

P.S. (Oh, Aunt Pammie, could you please let us know exactly when you will be arriving?!)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Happy 31st Birthday!

Image
Happy 31st Birthday Matt! Most people say things like, "I can hardly believe it's been a year since we fill-in-the blank... My, where does the time go???" Well, I know where the time since your last birthday has gone. It's been right here backing over us like a mack truck! All I can think as I remember last Halloween is how has it only been one year since you were celebrating your 30th birthday by going to a Halloween bash designed for teenagers while Aunt Pam and I took the kids trick-or-treating in the rain? It seems like at least three years ago since you and I were in the house with a princess throwing a fit about something while Aunt Pam was on the front porch knocking on the door to let us know our dragon had just made himself throw up to avoid wearing his costume. Seriously. Are you sure you're not turning 35? Since this year has been oh-so-eventful, I thought it would be no problem to come up with 31 memorable moments from the past year! 1. Begin at the b...
Read more

She Never Stops Talking

Image
Sometimes when Matt is home for extended periods of time, as he was during the week of Thanksgiving, he has the opportunity to notice new things about our children. Not that he isn't connected to them - he is an amazing, hands-on, intentional dad, but the fact that he spends much of his time at work means that there are little "joys" his misses out on.  One of the little "joys" he misses most of the time is the opportunity to spend long periods of time in the car with our kids. (I attribute Matt's perpetual cheerfulness to this fact, but that is another story...) Over Thanksgiving, however, Matt spent all kinds of time in the car with our offspring, and he was stunned by the number of times Sophie said "Mama..." Now, she said it no more and no less than she normally does, but the fact that Matt was in the car and I was talking, or trying to talk, with him seemed to highlight how often the word that has become my name was uttered. Sophie has always...
Read more

Sophie's 8th Birthday

Image
Sophie had one of her most perfect days on her 8th birthday, and I loved that we were able to give her a dream-come-true day! She woke up to a birthday breakfast, but without our typical doughnuts because we were headed straight for the Franklin Farmer's Market. We showered her with art supplies and an Ariel birthday sign, and she was thrilled about all of them!  At the Farmer's Market, Sophie roamed around like the gypsy she is, thrilled to have $10 (instead of her usual $5) to spend! You can't imagine how much Sophie can buy with $10 at the Farmer's Market! When honey sticks are going for a quarter, that can make for a long day! It was hotter than blue blazes, and we'd brought Aunt Tori, Uncle Derek, Aunt Hope, and Zoe, so over half our crew had to head inside The Factory before Soph had finished her shopping, but not before we all enjoyed treats and lunch from Biscuit Love!  After the Farmer's Market, we all head to Honey's, a new candy ...
Read more