This week I wanted to get so much done. I was going to crochet my little heart out and complete my new cleaning schedule. I was going to put up a tutorial here on making a sourdough from scratch as well as some other things. However, my week went by too quickly as one priority gained momentum over another and before I knew it, it's Friday night!!!
It's really easy to feel like we have failed sometimes when we seem to be spinning our wheels. Personally, I have to be careful or it will eventually mess with my head in a couple different ways. I'll feel like I'm not very good at being a housewife, which in turn makes me feel less self-confident. This can even spiral to the point where I'm moody and depressed for days. Gotta watch the pity party, ya know? The second thing that happens is, I might have a tendency to give up for a few days. This is bad because then people start conducting boxer raids because their underwear drawer is empty. Dishes get done and my toilet gets cleaned, but very little else gets accomplished because I look around at what I haven't gotten done and it all seems a bit overwhelming.
Today, I'm feeling neither of those two things. I'm thankful for this. I know that even though I got very little done on my list, there's always next week, and I will have a chance to start fresh with renewed motivation. It doesn't matter, really, what I didn't get done. It matters what I did get done. Grocery shopping is done. Laundry is done. The house is reasonably picked up. Dinner got made. I also had a lot of fun with my husband this week. So, I'm okay. It's just not that bad. This is not a "It's just not fair" moment.
I listened to a FlyLady broadcast once in which a woman called in who did the FlyLady cleaning program. This woman could not do everything on the list, but she was one of FlyLady's favorite callers. Apparently this woman had been doing the Fly program for years and called in once in a while. This woman was explaining that you don't epic fail when you don't get everything done. What I got out of it was, you don't chalk stuff up to a loss...you just keep doing what you can when you can. Set realistic goals, and when those goals can't be met, try again, and without all the whining. What really got me was, this woman had such a great attitude about cleaning, and FlyLady then asked her, "Could you tell my listeners what makes you special? What makes you different from most of my callers?" The woman said, "Sure. I'm blind." This woman didn't worry about not being able to get everything done. She didn't stress that "other women completed their cleaning list this week." She chose which tasks really mattered and completed those. Just like all of us, there were times she just couldn't. She didn't whine, she just did what she could on her list the next day, and the next.
I don't have a great attitude every time. I remember this woman every now and again when I just feel like I epic failed at my job. This woman said she could not possibly keep up with such a cleaning regimen, but she could do the daily stuff and some of the other things. She was happy with that. I need to be, too. Let's see what happens next week.
That's the joy of being a housewife - we can schedule as much as we want but if circumstances or our choice determines we don't accomplish what was originally planned, that's perfectly fine. We're free to 'go with the flow'.
ReplyDelete(And the list of what you actually did get done, looks fairly substantial to me.) :) Plus look at all you wrote... Thanks for that!
Thank you for your encouragement. Funny. The day I wrote this piece I was a-ok. Yesterday evening I wasn't so much. And today, I'm somewhere in-between. I am thankful for the ability to make my own schedule. I need to remember that I made it, it can be tweaked and I needn't be harsh with myself over it. Thank you so much, Linda. I appreciate it.
DeleteI think we can all be our own worst critics! I have been deep cleaning since we are on a break from school and "everyone" is coming to our house for Thanksgiving. I can't believe how busy homeschool and children's activities get me until I start deep cleaning and realize I've only been doing surface cleaning to get by--ick! No big deal, as it's worth it and deep cleaning will come again in the spring! What are your plans for Thanksgiving?
ReplyDeleteWe went to my parents house yesterday for a small family event. We usually do that and then on Thanksgiving we do one that is just us. My biggest dilemma right now is thinking of something special to make. We eat a lot of turkey and ham, like people used to eat ground beef. I'm thinking maybe sticking Daniel on the grill for steaks!
ReplyDeleteIt can be a bit overwhelming. You are really smart to start your deep cleaning so early so you aren't as inundated and stressed. The beauty of homeschooling is you can take the whole week or more off if you want when things happen. I can't remember, is it 180 days you are required to homeschool?
Here in Illinois it's 176 days of school. We just finished day 53!😊
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