"We have the female half to take care of, and if we don’t do our part, no one else is going to do it for us. The half of our Father’s plan that creates life, that nurtures souls, that promotes growth, that influences everything else was given to us. We can’t delegate it. We can’t pass it off to anyone. It’s ours. We can refuse it, we can deny it, but it’s still our part, and we’re accountable for it."
- Julie B. Beck
It's like I've been slapped in the face, "THIS IS WHAT'S IMPORTANT"
So I've made a goal to simplify. To par down.
I've been busy. Too busy. There are too many things that I'm obligated to do, and too many things that I want to do. I have too much "stuff" and it gets in the way of me enjoying my life. My kids don't need a a closet full of shirts. They wear a select few over and over and over again. As do I. As does DadGuy... We don't need so much stuff.
I'm so busy keeping up with this house, that I don't get to sit down and enjoy living in it.
My commitments outside of the home are vast, they are also unimportant.
I've been reminded of how nice it is to teach my children.
I've been reminded of how good it feels to take care of my family.
I've been reminded to take care of myself, to try to better myself.
It's been a hard few years trying to be Superwoman. I'm not. I don't want to be. When I was trying to live up to everyone else's expectations, I was barely scraping by. And I've decided that it's not enough. I don't want to scrape by, I want to flourish.
And that means keeping it simple.
I've purchased a planner, I've written out my schedule.
- Monday: Laundry Day
- Tuesday: Bathroom Day
- Wednesday: Baking Day
- Thursday: Laundry Day and Errands
- Friday: Dusting and Ironing Day
- Saturday: Floor Day
On Monday, I woke up, I fed the kids, I showered. Instead of starting 8 jobs, I focused on one. The laundry. When it was done, I was done. I felt accomplished. I crossed it off my list and smiled.
Tuesday was bathrooms. I turned on the music, and showed my children the proper way to clean a toilet. Then we had a lesson on how to clean the bathtub, and then the mirrors. Less than an hour later, we were finished. I had given my kids a lesson on how to take care of their home, and my kids were proud of their work. That night, they told their dad how good they were at scrubbing. And showed him how shiny the bathrooms were. They lifted the lid and asked him to smell the inside of the toilet. Their little eyes were sparkling. They knew that they had done a good job, they were glad to be contributing to the family.
On Wednesday, we baked homemade rolls, and peach cobbler. We looked through our recipe books and made a list of all the delicious treats we would make the next time. It was fun, it was easy. I felt good, the kids felt good. When DadGuy came home, he could feel the excitement and the love that we shared. He could taste it in the food that we made.
I'm very proud of myself. All these years, when I was so busy, when I was so frazzled, it was all my own doing.
Life doesn't have to be crazy. It's doesn't have to be high stress.
It's only been a few days, and there is a noticeable difference in our home. I'm enjoying the little moments, savoring the small successes.
And now? Right now, I'm going to turn off the computer, switch over the laundry, and I'm going to give four short people a lesson on the proper way to fold the towels.
