When I was in high school I remember being at a friends house and we were making pizza's. I spilled a little cheese on the floor and continued making my pizza when I looked up to see one of the guys looking at me shocked- "aren't you going to clean up that cheese you dropped?" he asked, I was a little surprised, and I said "well, I'm probably going to spill something else so I'll just clean it all up when we're done." He kept that same shocked (maybe a little disgusted too) look on his face and said, "I could never marry you- 'why should I vacuum today, it's just going to get dirty tomorrow!'" I laughed and picked up my spilled cheese, but I was pretty mad about it. He didn't know anything, what a jerk to say something like that! But I have come to realize, he was pretty right about me! I totally feel like that now- why sweep the floor after lunch when I know in a few hours it will be covered with dinner! Why do I bother shining the bathroom sink and cleaning the mirror when someone is going to go wash their rocks in the sink and get muddy water all over the counter and mirror before I even get to enjoy it being clean? My days are an endless cycle of re-doing the things I just did! My kids make messes faster than I can pick them up and sometimes it just seems really pointless. (Can you tell it's been one of those days???) I know that every mother has to deal with this, and I am quite sure there are even some that can do it cheerfully and just whistle while they work but I'm not there yet.
Ok, now the reason I'm sharing all this, I got my Monday Morning Motivator e-mail from Hannah Keeley and I swear, every week it's like she's been spying on me and her messages are directed to me! They are always uplifting and encouraging and sometimes pretty funny too. Here's the part that struck me today:
"[Life's] a process, not a product. There's no joy in letting things remain static. The image is just an illusion. Groceries were not meant to line shelves. Floor were not meant to stay clean. Life is messy, and if you're not getting messy, then you're not really living." then "In every action and in every reaction, we are creating something huge, something great that will last beyond our own lives. The activities that we do as moms, day in and day out, are meant to be impermanent. But what they are building will last forever. "
Well, that sums it up! I highly recommend joining her MMM list, I only get one e-mail a week from her and it's always awesome. Click HERE to sign up! Thanks for making it through this long post!
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10 comments:
I soooo needed to hear that! I am have such a hard time letting the kids be kids. I am right there behind them everytime they do anything, either cleaning up or making them clean up. Especially during the summer time. It probably sounded funny to some people about the food and lining the pantry shelves, but it didn't sound funny to me. I am like that. I like all my cans stacked in lines, and organized, and I get so annoyed when the kids eat all the food in one weekend, that I thought would last a week! Anyways. Thanks for the uplifting note. Love ya!
so true! sometimes i don't want to cook dinner just because i don't want to get my kitchen dirty. i am lame.
Ahh, at least i'm not the only one!! some days, usually after i've cleaned the whole house, i plan to be gone all day so that the house can stay clean for just a little bit longer....oh well. i think i'm going to join that email thing. thanks.
Oh man who said that?! It sounds familiar but I can't remember. And ya, I make Owen pee off the back deck just after I clean the bathroom to keep it clean just a little bit longer. I tried to get a picture from behind but he old me to go away.
Genious!
Who was this manic, obessive clean boy who left you with negative thoughts as a teenager? And who said you wanted to marry him, right? That's a great quote. Sometimes I do wish that I had a few more projects vs. processes, though. But then if everything were complete...what would I do?
LOVE THIS POST. That boy must have had a wacko obsessive clean freak for a mom. Wow - I totally realized just how much we 'shape' our children...or how our actions affect them anyway.
Fabulous quotes. I agree life must be lived and enjoyed - and somewhere there is a perfect balance between keeping things clean and enjoying the messes. ? If that made sense.
Great advice...it's good for me to remember that everything is a process, not a product, otherwise I will go crazy because nothing is ever really finished. That's so weird that guy said that to you, especially at high school age when most guys would have probably picked up the cheese off the floor and ate it.
Which boyfriend was it? I think I remember that story. My biggest thing is fingerprints. They are everywhere. It's my own fault that I keep buying Doritos and Cheetos, but I get it about the pressure to keep the house clean. Look at our Martha Stewart mom. Some of my earliest memories are of me waking up to the sound of her FINISHING the house cleaning. Nice to know we don't have to be perfect.
i've sat down 3 different times to comment on this post, but i never make it through without a small interuption. maybe that's because i need to read this one so many times! i love that you wrote about this and also love that the same exact things happen to other moms too! i complain ALL THE TIME about how nothing ever stays clean. i never get to enjoy a clean house or an empty dirty clothes box before it either gets messed up or filled up. that boy definitely wouldn't have wanted to marry me either because sometimes i don't even pick up the cheese after i'm all done...it's easier to sweep if it is all dried up. :)
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