Summer is over and it's back to school! I took a hiatus from blogging.... okay, okay, so I'm not consistent at it to start with, but I have faith you'll forgive me :-) (check out my past blog on forgiveness if you're struggling with forgiving me!) This summer surfaced a very interesting and unexpected confession and the marked the start of a new adventure for me and the kids in our house!
It was a crazy summer... and in my life, crazy is most often synonymous with good - which in this case holds true! First off, for those of you in the who do not reside in the Colorado area and may not be aware, Colorado was on fire this summer - literally! There were so many wild fires it was insane; and the record breaking heat played a large part in that. So here we were, the kids and I, home with temperatures breaking 100 multiple days in a row, no AC, and multiple wildfires within a 30 mile radius of the house. This situation = bad news for anyone's lungs, but especially when I already have enough problems with breathing during allergy season or any other irritants in the air... no way was what I said to adding smokey air to the mix! So we packed our stuff up and moved ourselves into the blissful chill of Grandma and Papa's house (love you Mom and Dad!) for a week or two... or so we thought. THREE weeks in, with no foreseeable end in sight, I decided it was time to start considering the option of installing an AC in my house. Called around for a few places to come and bid, one thing leads to another and what do you know... I'm being told that my furnace is unsafe and being advised that I not live in my home until it's replaced?! Oye... so we track on down the road, because you know what - God likes to keep me on my toes, and that's okay with me. I fall, often, but He's always there to pick me back up and put me right back on my toes and chugging through life! Now, as you can imagine, this whole process... bids, finding one I can afford, then actually getting them out here to install and set everything up... in the middle of a scorcher summer in the worst wildfire season Colorado has seen in years... it took some time. EIGHT weeks actually, from the time we moved into Mom and Dad's to the day we came back to a cool, energy efficient house!
I lived 8 weeks with my parents and it was fantastic! Did you know, that dishes do NOT sit in the sink until the cabinets are empty and you need one? I was not aware that my children were capable of keeping their rooms picked up and fairly orderly on a semi daily basis, let alone loading their dishes in the dishwasher without some whining or push back. I didn't realize that even though there were things that were used, a dog running around chasing laser pointers and doorbells (yes, Molly moved with us for the summer) and kids running and screaming and having their summer fun... amidst all this, I did not realize that internal calm, peace and ENJOYMENT were possible! (At least not for anyone other than my mom! But she's super mom!) But there I was, middle of the summer, I'd carted carloads of items over to my parents house so the kids and I could live comfortably with our things - now piling up around in suitcases and boxes, and rather than wreck my parent's summer by bringing chaos into their house, it was the other way around and calm and order and enjoyment were dropped into my lap! (not always 100% of the time, but by far, more so than the summers at my house!)
Eight weeks later, it was time to go home... back to my house, which, even after 3 1/2 years, I must confess I struggle to honestly say it feels like home. I walked in, and it felt empty, which was expected after no one being there for 8 weeks. The yard needed to be mowed, the furniture needed to be dusted, the floors swept, things unpacked, dinner made, kids settled back in, grocery shopping to be done - and I couldn't find it in me to do it. Our pile of things from my parents house sat on the kitchen table for a week! And I came home every day, discouraged more and more because I didn't know where to start. After a week, I decided enough was enough, and picked a task and started cleaning... but then I'd come across something that needed to be put away so I'd go put it away... and realize that area needed to be cleaned, so I'd start cleaning... and then one of the kids would call me so I'd go find them and on my way back from talking to them, I'd see something that needed to be organized, so I'd start on that. I was busy, working ALL morning, from about 8am until 2pm that Saturday. And at 2pm, I looked around my house and couldn't see one spot that looked any better than when I started. How DISCOURAGING!! How FRUSTRATING!! I've been working ALLLLLLL day, and nothing has gotten done, but I had about 9 things started?! What the heck was wrong with me... I couldn't even clean a dang house?!
But that's when I started to see it... it wasn't the cleaning, it wasn't the putting things away and doing all that day to day household stuff. It was ME. It was like I had a mental block on the ability to be able to do any houseKEEPING versus houseCLEANING. Anyone can clean a house - and I'm guessing the majority of those people would say it's not a chore they enjoy... it takes a long time, it can get hot, it's the same thing week after week (perhaps month after month or quarter after quarter if you're a procrastinator!) and it seems that you only get to enjoy it for a day or two and then it's back to what it was before.
So then, with that thought in mind, I would always wonder "What's the point?" Why waste my weekend - my precious free time with the kids and to get things done that I need to do - on chores that no one will notice were done in a day or two and I'll just have to do next weekend anyway?! So I would put them off... a week, two weeks, three weeks... I'd clean something here and there as I saw it needed to be done, but never a full overhaul. I have come to terms with my choices, and I have come to the decision it's time to do something about it - not about the house, but about ME!
It was a crazy summer... and in my life, crazy is most often synonymous with good - which in this case holds true! First off, for those of you in the who do not reside in the Colorado area and may not be aware, Colorado was on fire this summer - literally! There were so many wild fires it was insane; and the record breaking heat played a large part in that. So here we were, the kids and I, home with temperatures breaking 100 multiple days in a row, no AC, and multiple wildfires within a 30 mile radius of the house. This situation = bad news for anyone's lungs, but especially when I already have enough problems with breathing during allergy season or any other irritants in the air... no way was what I said to adding smokey air to the mix! So we packed our stuff up and moved ourselves into the blissful chill of Grandma and Papa's house (love you Mom and Dad!) for a week or two... or so we thought. THREE weeks in, with no foreseeable end in sight, I decided it was time to start considering the option of installing an AC in my house. Called around for a few places to come and bid, one thing leads to another and what do you know... I'm being told that my furnace is unsafe and being advised that I not live in my home until it's replaced?! Oye... so we track on down the road, because you know what - God likes to keep me on my toes, and that's okay with me. I fall, often, but He's always there to pick me back up and put me right back on my toes and chugging through life! Now, as you can imagine, this whole process... bids, finding one I can afford, then actually getting them out here to install and set everything up... in the middle of a scorcher summer in the worst wildfire season Colorado has seen in years... it took some time. EIGHT weeks actually, from the time we moved into Mom and Dad's to the day we came back to a cool, energy efficient house!
And yes... those of you wondering, Mom and Dad DO still love us and invite us over! ;-) Now.. the confession part - is anyone wondering if I forgot what track I was on yet?!
I lived 8 weeks with my parents and it was fantastic! Did you know, that dishes do NOT sit in the sink until the cabinets are empty and you need one? I was not aware that my children were capable of keeping their rooms picked up and fairly orderly on a semi daily basis, let alone loading their dishes in the dishwasher without some whining or push back. I didn't realize that even though there were things that were used, a dog running around chasing laser pointers and doorbells (yes, Molly moved with us for the summer) and kids running and screaming and having their summer fun... amidst all this, I did not realize that internal calm, peace and ENJOYMENT were possible! (At least not for anyone other than my mom! But she's super mom!) But there I was, middle of the summer, I'd carted carloads of items over to my parents house so the kids and I could live comfortably with our things - now piling up around in suitcases and boxes, and rather than wreck my parent's summer by bringing chaos into their house, it was the other way around and calm and order and enjoyment were dropped into my lap! (not always 100% of the time, but by far, more so than the summers at my house!)
Eight weeks later, it was time to go home... back to my house, which, even after 3 1/2 years, I must confess I struggle to honestly say it feels like home. I walked in, and it felt empty, which was expected after no one being there for 8 weeks. The yard needed to be mowed, the furniture needed to be dusted, the floors swept, things unpacked, dinner made, kids settled back in, grocery shopping to be done - and I couldn't find it in me to do it. Our pile of things from my parents house sat on the kitchen table for a week! And I came home every day, discouraged more and more because I didn't know where to start. After a week, I decided enough was enough, and picked a task and started cleaning... but then I'd come across something that needed to be put away so I'd go put it away... and realize that area needed to be cleaned, so I'd start cleaning... and then one of the kids would call me so I'd go find them and on my way back from talking to them, I'd see something that needed to be organized, so I'd start on that. I was busy, working ALL morning, from about 8am until 2pm that Saturday. And at 2pm, I looked around my house and couldn't see one spot that looked any better than when I started. How DISCOURAGING!! How FRUSTRATING!! I've been working ALLLLLLL day, and nothing has gotten done, but I had about 9 things started?! What the heck was wrong with me... I couldn't even clean a dang house?!
But that's when I started to see it... it wasn't the cleaning, it wasn't the putting things away and doing all that day to day household stuff. It was ME. It was like I had a mental block on the ability to be able to do any houseKEEPING versus houseCLEANING. Anyone can clean a house - and I'm guessing the majority of those people would say it's not a chore they enjoy... it takes a long time, it can get hot, it's the same thing week after week (perhaps month after month or quarter after quarter if you're a procrastinator!) and it seems that you only get to enjoy it for a day or two and then it's back to what it was before.
So then, with that thought in mind, I would always wonder "What's the point?" Why waste my weekend - my precious free time with the kids and to get things done that I need to do - on chores that no one will notice were done in a day or two and I'll just have to do next weekend anyway?! So I would put them off... a week, two weeks, three weeks... I'd clean something here and there as I saw it needed to be done, but never a full overhaul. I have come to terms with my choices, and I have come to the decision it's time to do something about it - not about the house, but about ME!
MY CONFESSION..... I AM A MESSIE!
What is a Messie you ask?! Well, it's the opposite of a Cleanie! Messie's struggle with keeping house and staying organized and focused and on track. Cleanies, on the other hand, are those lovely homes that you walk into which are neat and organized - yet still warm and welcoming... the ones where you're not afraid to sit on the furniture or take your shoes off! The good news is, there is HOPE for MESSIES; but as it is with any change, you have to want it and be ready to do the work the make the change happen.
Now, before we go any further and leave you thinking I live in a borderline condemned home, I do get to say there are varying levels of being a Messie! On a scale of 0-10, Messies are in the 0-4 range, Cleanies are in the 4-8 range and the the VERY Cleanie individuals, the home which you are afraid to breath in for fear something may become dirty, are the 9-10's. I rank in about a 4, which means I DO NOT have a dirty, icky home - it's just chaotic and disheveled. :-)
So, where am I getting this Messie and Cleanie business? Well, if you're interested on a bit more, check out the MA (Messies Anonymous) Website and see for yourself! http://www.messies.com/, but basically here's the scoop - I read the original book, early 1980's, and I became inspired, excited even, about getting a handle on my house! Some of the things just made sense, and it helped me understand ME and why I responded the way I do to my house and the chaos and the choices I make. When I started to understand WHY I was doing what I was doing, it started to shed light on how I can start doing it differently!
I'm starting down a road, and the kids are on board with me! We are on our way to being MESSIE NO MORE! It's a process and not an overnight one either. Change takes time and it's about time for a change (haha! I could be a presidential candidate with that slogan!!). So, if it interests you - over the next couple of blogs (yes, I will post more than once every couple of months!!), I will be sharing this process... there will be pictures (eek!!), stories, what worked, what didn't and how things have changed as this goes from being my family's house, to becoming our
HOME!
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