Just Something I've Been Thinking About

(i really, really wish i remembered where i found this)

You guys, I've been working on something revolutionary: Not turning into a psycho, grumpy, cleaning Nazi wife/mom when my house looks like a dump. What's that? That's really not revolutionary? Well it is for me. 

I saw this quote a while back and I've been trying to remember it. I have kids, and I'm going to have even more kids one day (hopefully), and let's face it kids are professional mess-makers and wrecking crews. Whenever I do get my apartment cleaned (yes, all 900 sq. feet of it) it stays clean for about 1.7 seconds. Instead of letting this make me totally un-fun and a cleaning lunatic who makes everyone hold still for an hour just so we can enjoy the cleanliness, I've decided to accept my life of living in a pig sty. Ok, not a pig sty (all of the time) but definitely not an apartment that could be photographed and posted on some blog for all the world to see and make others feel guilty that their house isn't as perfectly decorated, thrifted, crafted, and designed as well as mine.

My Google Reader is out of control with photography/crafting/interior design/cooking/party planning blogs that I am subscribed to and then there's Pinterest (which I do love). I was telling Seth that reading all of these blogs is making me feel like a loser. He basically didn't have any sympathy for me and in a really nice way told me to get a life. :) He reminded me that comparing myself to others (real or fake people (blogs) ) is not good to do at all. Then I listened to President Uchtdorf's talk from the Relief Society broadcast and that made me remember that I actually have a life and a really good one too. I have a real life that consists of days full of playing with kids, bathing kids, feeding kids, trips to the park, trips to the grocery store, trips to the beach, playdates with friends, changing diapers, potty training, dinner making, and pillow-talking. A real life.

I have to remember that the aforementioned blogs I read are people's jobs. They are spending lots of time perfecting each post, publishing only the best pictures, and although they made, photographed, and packaged perfectly shaped and colored macaroons for all their neighbors, they left out the picture of themselves making them in their pajamas, mascara smears under their eyes, and bra-less. (At least that's what I imagine them to look like to make myself feel better). They are professional photographers, professional interior designers, etc. They have put lots of time into perfecting their skill and talents and instead of feeling like a loser because I don't have those talents, I really need to just admire them for their talents and continue working on and cultivating my own. 

The first step here is for me to cool it on the cleanliness of my house. Although, I have to admit, if we have company coming to stay there is still a good chance I might fall back into my old ways. Baby steps.  Seth mentioned earlier this week that our house has been a more enjoyable place to be and that all of us seem happier now that I've loosened my grip on the Windex bottle. Mission accomplished.