Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Coming to terms...

So over Thanksgiving, I was laying on a couch and hoping to fall asleep. I was with my whole family and I could hear my Mom and sisters in the kitchen talking. They were talking about cleanliness. Somehow the conversation turned to clean houses. Now I know my house is not the cleanest, especially when compared to my sisters. But it still bothered me when my Mom said that my house wasn't as clean as theirs. So I've been mulling it over in my brain since then and trying to make a better effort to keep my house picked up.

And then it occurred to me, I choose spending time with my family vs. cleaning my house. When Merril says, "Do you want to go to the sand dunes?" and I have a sink full of dirty dishes, I totally choose going to the sand dunes. I think of all those people who lay on their death beds and wish they'd spent more time with their families. Nobody lays on their death bed thinking, "I wish my house had been cleaner!" So after thinking about it, I've come to the conclusion that YES, my house isn't as clean as it could be. I've traded a super clean house for time with my husband and family. And I'm okay with that. (There's always time to have a SUPER clean house later.)

6 comments:

Angie said...

As much as keeping an orderly house is a talent, I really believe knowing when to let it go in favor of better things is a talent as well.

Shelly said...

Amen to that. Cleaning a house is so temporary, it just gets dirty again... I'd rather read a good book. I don't like to leave in total disarray, but I am also unwilling to spend hours and hours cleaning every day.

The Blackwells said...

I couldn't agree more. So I hope you will be very understanding when you drop Juliet off to a filthy mess tomorrow :) I love the saying "Please excuse the mess, the children are making memories"

Ten Cow said...

Good post. I used to keep a super duper clean house but it took all of my time and energy and then there wasn't any left for the kids. I've learned to let it go and clean up after they go to bed. Your right, nobody's going to be on their death bed wishing their house would've been cleaner. I hope your mom didn't hurt your feelings to bad.

Jo Anna said...

I think she was talking about my house. It's always a mess. I was the messiest when we were kids and I'm still that way. I do just enough house cleaning that it's not a health hazard, but that's about it. I think your house always looks nice. Time with family is by far more important.

Honey Family Blog said...

You are so right!! I use to always have a super clean house and then after I had Ayzie I just didn't have enough time anymore. It was hard to get use to just letting things go but there are other things in life then just a clean house. And for the record, everytime I go to your house it is always clean!!:)