Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Tiny Victories

Hubband is sick.  Jonah is sick.  It turns out I was sick, last week, but I was told, "It's just allergies.  Suck it up, Princess."  So, I did.  But once I knew I was really sick, I could barely function for the fatigue.  And the coughing fits.  Or maybe it is the triple digit heat.  That's right.  A plague, and a heat wave, all in the same week.

Today, I am feeling a bit better.  It might be the extra sleep.  Yesterday when I got home from errands, I told Hubband I needed to lay  lie lay down, just for a few minutes, to cool off, and got up three hours later.  Whatever the reason, I felt it was time to conquer the house work.

Unfortunately, the house, as a whole, presented an insurmountable challenge.  It was so tempting to recline on the fainting couch, and put it all off another day.  Or three.

All the dishes were dirty.  All the laundry needed doing.  Every room looked like it had been lived in, by raccoons.  I was daunted.

But, I know me.  I thrive on victory.  If I can get one small victory, I can move on to the next battle.  So, I started small.  The kids' bathroom.  It looked bad, but really wasn't.  I had just scrubbed in on Sunday.  It only needed a little attention.  And, it is self contained, with no view of any other room.  Once it was clean, I could, conceivably, hang out in there, and pretend the house was clean.  So, I swished, and swiped, and closed the curtain on the tub, and voila!  A tiny victory!

Yay, me!

Next up, Catherine's room.  I picked up, put away, vacuumed, and dusted.  Voila!  Another victory!

Yay, me, again!

Then onto the boys' room.  More laundry to be put away, two beds to make.  Well, okay, I only made one bed, and put away all the stuff underneath it.  I left Jonah's side for Jonah, as that is actually one of his responsibilities.  Nevertheless, another tiny victory!

I was so proud of myself, that I took the opportunity of the baby's nap to get on the computer, as a little reward.  So, here I sit, writing to you all, my back to the kitchen and its looming pile of dirty dishes.

I am not worried.  I know I will get to them.  If there is one thing I have learned about dishes, it is that there are ALWAYS dirty dishes.  There is no victory over dishes.  I could stand in that kitchen all day doing dishes, but since folks keep using them, there will never be any victory.  So, I do dishes at certain times.  In between those times, or if I am sick, they can wait.

Until then, I will revel in my tiny victories.  In fact, I may even ride the momentum of those victories into the living room, where I can see from here, an apple core, wedged between the sofa cushion.

CHARGE!!!

9 comments:

  1. Revel in tiny victories.
    Revel in tiny victories.
    Revel in tiny victories.
    Only 97 more times for me to say this, and then maybe it'll happen. :)

    Don't work too hard and relapse!

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  2. I love your perspective and realism, heavily laced with the sensibility that you might as well laugh rather than moan and feel sorry for yourself. I could really have used you as a friend when I was raising my own two kids, but proper perspective at any time of life is good!

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  3. We mom's just do that, don't we? I rarely go to bed when I'm sick...just keep plugging along. "Suck it up, Princess?" hmmmm....I think I'd be remembering that one! :)

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  4. Yay you indeed! You inspired me this afternoon to work on my own house. I didn't actually get an entire room cleaned, but my kitchen floors look better!
    Great job - I like the idea of starting in a self contained room where you can't see the mess in any other area. I'm going to use that one!

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  5. My mom used to always say, "Don't trust a woman with a clean kitchen who says she cooks. She isn't telling the truth."

    Feel better. :)

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  6. NEVER an end to dirty dishes OR laundry! I APPLAUD you for your accomplishments despite your feeling YUKKY!

    Have a great weekend...I hope NO ONE ELSE gets sick!

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  7. I can completely relate to this post. Revelling in tiny victories is essential to keeping one's sanity when looking after a house full of kids' mess.

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  8. Anita: You must revel in the tiny ones. The big ones happen so seldom. Like when ALL the laundry is done and put away at once.

    Patty: I love you. Thank you for stopping by.

    SAHM: I'm telling you, one room is the way to go. It is especially nice if it can be a grown up place, like the master bedroom, so that when you just can't work anymore, you can go in there and act like a real person.

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  9. Betsy: I go to bed as often as possible when I am sick, but it is seldom possible. And, Hubband is full of princess sayings. It is like a running gag around here, so I was not too offended.

    Caroline: Your mom was a wise woman.

    Jill: That is so true. So, I try not to beat myself up too much when it is not done. Because it is NEVER going to be done.

    Rebecca: I take comfort in knowing that you think this will help keep me sane, my younger and wiser friend. You have managed to stay sane, it seems, and I think of you often. Your little life is like the light at the end of my tunnel sometimes.

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