I have been talking to a lot of people this week and have been very surprised with the number of type A personalities I have run into. I am a mixture - I can be anal and stress with the best of them but I also am a great procrastinator and prone to putting off tasks in order to enjoy life instead of enjoying life only when I have completely my tasks!
There was a house I used to go to that always made me feel quite sad. There was a child there but the house was so spotless that you never would have know that a child lived here except that there was a sippy cup in the dish drain. I asked how she did it and was told that she got up every day around 5 to clean, only kept his stuff upstairs and wouldn't go to bed at night until everything was in place and clean. I was in shock. I would love for my house to be as clean as hers but I am not willing to dedicate my life to it.
It made be start wondering - I know some people truly are happier when everything is in it's place but do they ever have a tinge of regret for spending time cleaning rather than doing something else? When G. was born - I simply couldn't clean for the first 2 months unless hubby was home. I couldn't stop holding her and wanted to love her every second. When S was born, I had to do a little more laundry, stay on top of dishes but when I wasn't spending time G, I was holding S rather than cleaning.
I know people with this type of personality would look down on me. My house is tiny and cluttered. The carpets are stained - i used to keep up with them until it became a lost cause. My dining room table is a catch all and boy has it caught a lot! I did clean it off about 4 weeks ago = that lasted for 2 weeks tops. Today I only had one child. I had a list of things I wanted to do - clean up the office, straighten the pantry and the linen closet, do some good cleaning. Little S was quite bored without her big sister to play with so instead I threw the laundry in the dryer, unloaded the dishwasher and went to the pool. Then I came home and took a nap.
Is anything on my list accomplished? No
Do I feel bad about this? Not at all, I can do some tomorrow but today I spent quality one on one time with my baby who come December will be a middle child and will really need personal mommy time and I got to rest my fatigued body. I think I accomplished exactly what was needed! I will one day pass on probably in a cluttered house with stained carpets and some friends will pass on with perfect house and perfectly organized lives. May we both leave a legacy of love....
