And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. ~ Kahlil Gibran



Friday, March 06, 2009

Obstacles

Today I got myself all worked up about the stuff that is getting in the way of me living my life. All the clutter, all the things I am just sure I need to have around. I stumble over it every day in my attempts to keep up with the housework and take care of the kids. It makes me so angry to have to move things in order to clean behind them, to have to work around all the junk, to have to work on this to make room so I can clean that.

I got so worked up that I began looking at the items in the house and thinking about our nice, empty garbage can out in the driveway. I kept thinking about all the stuff I could dump before Mr. Barefoot got home. I started getting MAD. Steaming, furiously angry. Why should I have to work so hard at night, and then come home to a house that just seems to breed messes and clutter?

So I went and took a shower. A long, hot, relaxing shower. Because Mrs. Barefoot should not, under any circumstances, clean while in that frame of mind.

Then, while I was trying to nap in preparation for work tonight, it hit me. An apost.... epist... epipha....... ummm, a paradigm shift. Hit me like a bolt of lightning. It actually made me sit up and stare into the darkness, slap myself on the head, and say "Duh".

What if I quit complaining, and just do a little bit every day? What if I quit feeling so overwhelmed and just take it one little chunk at a time? What if I quit feeling martyred because of my lack of sleep, and just be grateful that I get the few hours I do? What if, by just getting on with it already, I can get rid of the nasty voices in my head that keep me awake by telling me about all the work that still needs doing?

What if, by doing all these things, I could come home to a clean house every day and still have time to relax AND sleep?!

It's a radical idea, but one I am willing to try. You all had better cheer me on....

4 comments:

Deb said...

I know the mood. All too well. It sounds like you have a great plan. Go for it!

Lisa said...

I like the plan very much!! I am going to try it myself,okay? We can share our progress. I think this will help lift some of your fog.

PS. Nobody will notice if you slip a few things into the trash!

Wendy said...

Rah! Rah! Go-o-o-o-o-o Barefoot!

That was my cheer, as I think your plan is a very good one. Baby steps, right?

Those big, radical changes can be very confusing, and then, sometimes, you have to go back and redo it anyway, which means more work in the long run.

Ask me how I know ;).

barefoot gardener said...

Deb-
Thanks for the encouragement!

Lisa-
Cool beans! Won't things be nice when they are all clean?

Wendy-
Oh, I am so glad to hear from you...I thought you left us entirely!

Yeah, being from an "instant gratification" society, it is sometimes hard to take baby-steps, though. I am so used to just having things get DONE.

But I am trying to take it slow.