Good Enough

We all have those weird “quirks” about us, those little habits that we never notice are different until some else points them out.  Or maybe we don’t want to talk about it…but there is something of an obsessive compulsive in us all. I’ve read your posts, I’ve seen the little crazies come out.  I pick up on it chatting with friends. I find out about siblings, from their spouses (oops! secret!) never would have guessed the oddities coming from them. 

And my husband. Little things I do to drive him crazy, the poor dear. Like switching the silverware in the drawer tray,  then it’s pretty funny to watch him put away the dishes.

My dad eats his peanut butter sandwiches the exact same way every time. Corners first, then the centers of those corners, and then corners again, and so on till all that’s left is the very middle. His favorite part. After 33 years of marriage, my mom can ignore it, but for awhile there it drove her crazy. 

I’m pretty laid back about my habits, but I notice when I clean I have to do things in a certain order, I can’t actually dive right in to the grime. Maybe it’s just another excuse not to do the dishes. I don’t like to sweep unless I can wipe off the counters, I can’t wipe off the counters if there are still dishes left to be done, I can’t do any dishes if the dishwashers full, and I can’t put away dishes if there is still food out on the counters!  I may as well not clean, spare myself the insanity and go read a good book!  I’m seeing it for what it really is as I type. Another manifestation of my laziness. I really just don’t want to clean.  I’m trying to make excuses for my sloppiness, and now I’m coming ‘clean’ about it! Sorry, I had to go there. 

It’s not the kids that drive me crazy! I’ll take the earsplitting volumes my house reaches as it approaches suppertime.  I enjoy the challenge of sibling rivalry, the bathing, the cuddling, the diapering, the potty training, the teaching, the crying the laughs, the games, the family field trips. Night shifts taking care of sick or scared kids, well I’ve got a great hubby to help me through those hard times, and I even like to cook when money allows for an exciting new experiment in the kitchen.

What I don’t like is the constant battle of the grim and clutter! The endless shoes and coats to put away, the books and toys picked up again and again, only to find there is a little one in my shadow tearing apart my organization!

Bathrooms, my least favorite, where little boys tend to “overshoot” and floors are sticky, and toilets I don’t even want to touch.

And the dishes, the endless nights of dishes, only to have to do it all again tomorrow.    

There is just no joy in cleaning, no satisfaction, no light at the end of the tunnel. I’m goal oriented, I’m a finish line girl, I like to see the end of something and get there as fast as I can.

But I see no end to the cleaning. It’s there, everyday, and if I don’t tend to it the monster rears it’s head and becomes uncontrollable.

I’m sure my husband could give you the dirt on the quirks of me. But he’s not writing this post, is he? So dish…what are yours? 

Your landlord shows up at your door to check on your plumbing issues, and you’ve been taking a nap while the kids watch Blue Clues,

your not wearing a bra yet,

you have to say, “wait a minute while I clear a path”

he asks if the garbage men have been forgetting to pick up the trash(they really  have!) and he mentions that with all the diapers we have, it needs to be picked up. (NOT MY FAULT!)

he asks if the kids gotten into the fingerpaint (it’s all over the upstairs wall)

he notices there’s a dog in your garage, he didn’t know you had a dog…

Doesn’t your life seem even more pathetic when someone of authority shows up to remind you that you have NOTHING and you are a terrible housekeeper, and

WHY DOES HE ONLY SHOW UP WHEN THE HOUSE IS A MESS?!

Needless to say I called up my mom afterwards and began hyperventilating on the phone.

I can’t do this, I don’t know where to start. The house is a complete pile and my mother-in-law is flying up tomorrow.

Whoa is me. I’m having an “I suck!” Day.

Haven’t you heard? It’s now a national holiday.

At least I did something right. Because my kids are adorable…and I married a good man that’s doing everything in his power to make my life life good. Which is maybe part of why I feel so bad.

I have a plan. After the house is cleaned I’m going to call my landlord and complain about something, and he’ll come over and see what a good home maker I am.

I’m not a pathetic person in “real life!”
 

I’ve had a busy day.  You know those days where the kids all seem to sense something is going on, like if they open their eyes they’ll see the balloons and candy momma left at the ends of their beds. How do they know that? So one by one, starting at 4:30 am, they awoke, and the last child was up by 6:30.

Hubby stayed home for the morning, and presented me with breakfast in bed which consisted of a 2lb box of hand picked chocolates.  So I’m not liable for what happened today as I lived off of them, literally, I think a sugar cookie may have been tost into the mix. I went to help with Buster’s Kindergarten Valentine’s party.  Good news is that I actually had a shower before I left. I don’t want to be know as smelly mom. After that I must have blacked out because everything is a blur. Bubba had crashed on my bed, because he’s been up since 4:30 ( if I need to remind anyone). And of course he woke as soon as I arrived home from school and Daddy left for work. I think I threw everything upstairs preparing for the next party I was hosting for some 8 year old girls in my church. I blacked out again but I’m sure you don’t need details of a group of 8 year old girls, plus my 3, with paints and glitter and all manner of messy, staining, and sticky mixtures thrown all about the kitchen.

I think I said goodbye to thegirls, hopefully they heard me over my own children’s cries of hunger. Dinner? What dinner?  Here, have another sugar cookie, we have about a dozen left. I can barely see straight on this mix of sugar, lack of sleep, and stress. I seem to remember hubby coming home with some form of sustenance, grease of some sort…then leaving for Boy Scouts, and his weekly game of basketball. Somehow my kids ended up in bed, and that brings me to now. Now, ahhh, yes John Mayer live in concert on TV.  John’s my favorite. He can be my valentine tonight. And I’ve still got half of my chocolates. That’s right I’ve only eaten a pound so far. It’s either John Mayer or “Too Legit to Quit, The MC Hammer story.”

Don’t feel sorry, all will turn out right in the end, my little sister offered to babysit on Friday night. Hubby and I can reconnect then, besides, I’ve been reading all these sappy blogs about Hubby’s needing time for themselves as well. Now that we’ve moved to a place where he can no longer surf on saturdays, I encourage this male comradery.

So you go people, I hope you have your dates or future plans, I hope everyone is as comfy as I am at this beautiful moment in time, where the house is still, the dog is snoring, and Johnny’s on TV. Sing to me Johnny!

xoxo all you hard working people!