Monday, July 14, 2008

What I Learned While Mopping the Floor.

The other day after I had swept the kitchen and decided I could mop, I headed to the front entry thinking it would be good to do that little square of floor too. On my way there, cheerfully thinking of the pretty shine it would be, I looked down the stairs and felt kind of ornery. They were a mess, why did the kids do this? Then pushing away the discouragement (it made me want to sit down and give up), I thought of how pretty the kitchen floor would be when I was finished and it was all shiny. Do you see? If you look at the mess and that is all you see, it is depressing and discouraging, but if you see the potential, the pretty it will be, it is actually fun and exciting!
You'll See!
"It's all how you look at it." - PBS I think

For me it also helps to pick one thing I can face, even if I start grumpy, and I find as I get moving it's not so bad. (It's kind of like excersize when you haven't done it for a while, you dread the first steps, only to realize you feel better after you've taken them).

4 comments:

my favorite color is green said...

thanks for your thoughts. it is so hard to get started and i loose motivation so quickly when it comes. i guess taking it one task at a time is always best. :)

megan said...

I am currently back to this point. My dishes and sink are clean, and at least the kitchen floor is clean. But I will have to remember this and think about how lovely and peaceful my bedroom might be if I can just get started. My main frustration right now is starting a project and getting interrupted every 2 minutes. I can't even be terrible and use the TV to distract him anymore.
sigh.

plugalong said...

Megan, I know how you feel. It's funny though. When Jacob is sleeping or happy I often wonder what I could do and don't do anything, and when he is fussy I am thinking about everything else I want to be doing - OR, I finally get doing something and he immediatley decides he needs me again.

megan said...

It's so true! That's exactly how it feels. I used to say that Oliver could hear me opening a bookor siting down to the computer a mile away. Now I can add just about anything to that list, heh.