Well, it was a great weekend of rest, relaxation, rowdiness, and realization!!
My sister informed me that she was arriving for the weekend early with her husband and daughter in tow. She would be at the house about 5:30, so I got out of work at 4, rushed to the grocery store to get her a cake (late birthday party), and some things for lunch - if all else failed, we could eat sandwiches!
I got to the apartment and implemented the 30-minute cleaning plan. It took a little longer though... I wanted to take on some extra tasks required for more than just a quick afternoon visit. The bathroom had to be scrubbed, kitchen cleaned, and floors swept if nothing else. I did it - and just in time for their arrival!
We had a great weekend at the beach, park, ice cream shop, and just hanging out around the house.
Most housework was left undone, except for my sister going around and helping to pick up. We spent all day Saturday laughing, playing, and dancing. My niece is almost 3 years old, and she tells the best stories. It didn't matter if the house wasn't perfect - she loved all the magnets on my fridge and my collectible cows. At one point she came into my room while I was folding some laundry.
I told her, "This is the messy room...." She looked around and assessed the situation, then smiled up at me and said, "I like messy rooms." I got a little teary eyed. After all I'd been working for... it just didn't matter to her. Not only did it not matter, she liked it. I gave her a big smile and said, "Me too."
I needed that reminder, that it's not just about getting my life together. What I'm really striving for is the time to step back and appreciate the little things. This weekend, I skipped cleaning to dance. I forgot about breakfast, so we could play music and sing. My sister and I reconnected over a table of dirty dishes after dinner.
Later we took care of everything together. My sister brought me breakfast while I was drawing pictures with her daughter. We took care of each other, so each one of us could let go and live a little.
I promise myself on this journey, I will not lose sight of what this is really about. That's part of the "realization".
The other part is maintenance. I woke up this morning knowing that I can't take on one room or one big project each night. I have to just maintain an overall sense of order in the house - not mind-numbing, sterile order, but not complete chaos either - something in between. And I can't work with a schedule - it needs to be a guide. An overall guide to being me and to doing what I want to do.
Maybe that's why the Housewife's Guide from 1955 was called a "guide". They must have been leaving room for a little chaos.
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