Friday, April 13, 2018

Don't Stress About The Mess

I don't know what your house looks like, but mine doesn't exactly look like one of those beautiful homes in the magazines where everything is perfectly in place. We have an overwhelming amount of stuff. If you visit, you'll probably find toys in nearly every room, dishes in the sink, piles of laundry that need washed or clean clothes that need put away, & just general clutter.  I fill trash bags & my hubby takes them for donation or the consignment shop, but I swear the stuff just multiplies after each load leaves! I would love to have a gorgeous clutter-free home where everything is perfectly clean & organized, but I also enjoy hanging out with my kids & hubby. Energy is limited so I make sure the worst messes get taken care of & leave the stuff that can wait so I'm not too tired to make memories.

Usually, I feel really guilty about the state that our home is in & my inability to get things caught up. I should be able to clean my own house, but the reality is that it's incredibly difficult to complete just one task so the odds of me doing several are pretty slim. The kids may grumble about their chores, but they are really good about helping Herbie and me out & I'm incredibly grateful to have such a fantastic family. Even though we're always behind on housework & the clutter is ridiculous, the dirt is cleaned up (mostly).

At least the coffee table is clean!

Struggling with balance between a clean house & fun is not a problem exclusive to those of us with MS. At the urologist's office today, the nurse & I had a chance to chat while waiting to use the ultrasound machine. Now that her son is getting married next month, she was reflecting on all the time spent cleaning that cut into her time to spend with her children before they grew up and warned me not to do the same. She said that when her kids were young, she would make sure their house was pristine - always fussing over anything out of place or a speck of dust on a shelf. The nurse sighed and said, "All that time wasted." Nowadays, she makes sure her house is still clean, but doesn't obsess over it & instead focuses on enjoying life.

 I can't be the only one looking around at the mess and feeling like a terrible parent. As long as your home is clean enough to keep you sane, let go of the guilt & leave the rest for the days when you have extra time & energy. The mess will always be there, but your child looking at you with those big eyes begging you to play with them will not. What fun thing will you be doing today?

0 comments:

Post a Comment