Sunday, May 18, 2008

To Clean or Not to Clean ...

I am a 43-year-old mother of 9, now that is an amazing statement to most. The first question is always something like "how do you do it?" My answer is "one day at a time". I used to be a very forward thinking person, always buying things and preparing for things months in advance. For the most part, I found this to be very helpful. But I also soon realized that by always preparing for the future I was missing out on the moment at hand.

I could honestly be cleaning my house 24/7 and it would still need to be cleaned. With this many bodies in motion, there is ALWAYS dishes to be washed, laundry to be folded, and some kind of mess to be picked up. With my daily battle with Fibromyalgia, I lack the energy to always be cleaning. (and who wants to anyway?)

A clean house in it’s self does not define who I am. This has become a source of some contention. Ooooooo

Now, don’t get me wrong I love having a clean house, it feels good, it brings the spirit into our home. But at what price? Me, I pay the price with exhaustion and pain. So I do the best I can and I have had to learn to let go of the rest. And if someone really cares that much that not every corner of my house is clean, I say, “Get a Life”, your Own Life!!

So if you drop in on me, you’ll never know what to expect. My house might be spotless with a candle burning for ambiance and banana bread baking in the oven or I might be in my PJ’s, with dishes piled up and laundry undone. Does that make me a bad person? No, just human.

So I say, “Have No Regrets!!” Find the balance in your life, even if there are chores to be done.

Believe me! They will be there tomorrow.



The dishes are waiting for me - Yuck

The clothes are waiting - for someone else
(I told you already, I love to wash but I hate to fold)

3 comments:

Cortney said...

Christi,
I can't believe you found my blog!! Crazy... Good to see your family again!
Hugs and kisses,
Cortney

Karen & Gerard said...

What would all those dishes and laundry be waiting for you with all those people in your family? Don't the kids help with the chores? I say put THEM to work!

Visiting from the No-Go BlogHer hop.

Petula said...

Yes, I agree, put the kids to work. You know, now I don't feel too bad about my house and it's lack of everything clean and in it's place. I have four children ages 19, 6, 5 and 3 and like you said there are always so many bodies and people moving that it's hard to keep up. (It's six of us... not 11, but I think you know what I mean.) I also have fibro and I've had to learn that if I don't feel like it then I can't fret about it. It will have to just wait. If I'm feeling really bad and try to do it anyway it usually takes longer and isn't done as well so I might as well wait.

It is fabulous visiting your blog. Have a great weekend.