Climbing on top of the pile of straw

When one straw falls on you, it is no big deal, but what about when the next one falls, and the next, and the next? Eventually, you can find yourself buried under a pile of straw. One piece is lightweight and small - no big deal, but if you don't brush off and essentially conquer that one piece as it falls, you have the possibility of being buried under it all. Once your are under the pile rather than on top of it, getting back on top can feel like such an insurmountable task. I know. I feel it all too often.

Thankfully, in this great big blog world, encouragement and helpful tools can be found. One blog-buddy has encouraged me and given me helpful tips and ideas, and kept me entertained as well with her own stories of KCF - otherwise known as Kitchen Combat Fatigue. Problem number one - I D.E.F.I.N.I.T.E.L.Y. had KCF. No doubt about it. I firmly believe that you don't have to be an expecting mom to get it. Not even a homeschooling mom. Hey, you probably don't even need to be a mom, or even a homemaker, or married to get Kitchen Combat Fatigue. I imagine that ANYONE that actually COOKS in their kitchen can easily get it. But enough about the requirements. I was worn out, frustrated and downright discouraged in my kitchen. I am not naive enough to think that as soon as our kitchen remodel project is finished, those frustrating feelings will magically disappear. I needed to reevaluate and reassess the goings-on in my kitchen.

Problem number two: I have such a hard time with jobs that you do once (yes, this is an issue in the kitchen as well, but for this part, we are covering the rest of the house), and then no later than the end of the day, you have to do the same job over! Solution one? Buy disposable clothes, and locate a self cleaning bathroom and a robot vacuum cleaner. Back to the real world, though. I am a person of FANTASTIC intentions and plans. Oh yes. I can make a list for anything, make a schedule and hang up a chart for anything, but if I am not remaining on TOP of the little pieces of straw, those lists, schedules and charts do me no good at all. I also have a very difficult time thinking OUTSIDE the box. I think that is why my schedules and plans and charts ALWAYS look the same and ALWAYS end up failing me. Or maybe I am failing them. I am great at the start, but then I falter. Hmm... What is that verse about running the race with perseverance? Yeah...

Spring cleaning "season" has helped me dig out from under the pile, but the last thing I want is Fall to roll around (or worse yet, next Spring) and some of those jobs that are done rarely are back on the list of things that REALLY need to get done, but I am frustrated because they R.E.A.L.L.Y. needed to get done a long time ago. I'd rather just stay consistent with all of it, but is cleaning my ENTIRE living room from the ceiling to the floor and EVERYTHING in-between every Monday really feasible? Not if I intend to cook, do dishes and laundry, and attend to school needs that day as well, it isn't. And I KNOW this, but really, I would LOVE to have my living room - and the dining room - be cleaned that way every single Monday. Then the bathroom on Tuesday, the kitchen on Wednesdays, bedrooms on Thursdays and the bathroom again on Friday. That isn't too much to require of myself, is it? Maybe not if it was a quick dust job, run the vacuum, and make sure everything is straightened, but, I tend to be an all or nothing person. We are either going 100mph or standing still - which is also something I need to work on - slow and steady wins that race. Because I can't keep up that schedule on my terms, I started looking around for not only encouragement because I was honestly feeling like such a failure as a wife and mom, but I needed ideas on how to fix it as well. One day I was visiting Sarah's page and came across her post on how she keeps a clean house. I followed the link she provided and went ahead and grabbed my very own Motivated Moms schedule. (See, I told you I'm a sucker for schedules.) Why did I grab yet ANOTHER schedule? Thinking Outside The Box, people out of the box. See, I can Spring Clean and organize and perfect like nobody's business, but keeping it all together and not getting discouraged or worn out with the day to day maintaining is where I lose it. This new perspective was part of what I needed. (You mean to tell me I don't have to clean the entire room that day? Really??)

The last problem? I'll admit it. Lack of sunshine. This girl desperately needs the sun, and by the time winter is winding down, a few good days of sunny, warm brightness do wonders for my winter blues funk.

So, here I am, on top of my pile of straw. I will continue to put one foot in front of the other, and with the help of The Son, I will "throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let (me) run with perseverance the race marked out for (me)." ~ Hebrews 12:1