There are ice cream dishes still on the counter from last night. The dishwasher needs emptied so it can be filled with this morning’s cereal bowls. There are two loads of folded laundry on my dresser and a load in the washing machine that has been washed, and re-washed twice since yesterday. The living room is covered with plastic figures and wooden blocks. The kitchen floor is speckled with drops of milk and splashes of juice. Not to mention the crushed goldfish and random Cheerios decorating the floor. The to-do list is longer than I can memorize and I don’t have time to sit down and write it all out. My head is swarming with thoughts that are echoing just a bit louder than the kid’s who are all demanding my attention at once. I retreat to the bathroom to sit and have a moment of quiet. I throw my head back and try to breath deeply, then it happens. I see the vent above my head is covered with heavy dust and I break out into sobs.
I’m overtaken by my built up emotions, the clutter, my never ending to-do list, my sweet darling children that I would give my life for, and whew, sometimes I just need to take a moment and remember something.
Remember that I have a choice.
Remember that I can CHOOSE TO BE THANKFUL or choose to be overwhelmed, stressed, and weighted down.
Dirty ice cream dishes mean that we’re blessed enough to have extra money for treats. At one point in my life I didn’t have enough money for three meals a day. The dirty dishwasher means I should be thankful for many things. Food to eat, money to pay the energy bill, running water, and well, a dishwasher. Clean laundry reminds me that I am blessed enough to have family and clothes for them to wear. Not to mention, I don’t have to drag bags of laundry to a laundromat. My dirty kitchen reminds me to be thankful for the little mess-makers I gave birth to. My mental to-do list reminds me that I am thankful for hobbies and opportunities to serve others.
I can be thankful.
Thankful for my life and those in it. Thankful that I can pull myself away from the madness and reorganize my priorities. Thankful that I can do things to make my home a haven.
Thankful that I can start.
While running and covering my head is tempting, I can choose to dig my heels in and start.
For me, starting involves me starting a load of laundry while I take a toy basket and scurry around picking up as many toys that are separated from their homes. I give my kid’s the job of putting away the toys in the basket while I attack the remaining clutter.
As counters reappear and the “stuff” is reduced I can breathe easier. Life isn’t perfect and my home will never resemble a showroom but they’re both good. Good again.
I’m no longer overwhelmed by the to-do list. The stuff. The urgent.
I can enjoy my kids, tackle chores together, and walk around the kitchen barefoot.
Sometimes it’s important to just stop, evaluate, and then start.
If you’ve ever experienced a similar moment of overwhelm I invite you to join in our 12 Week Declutter Challenge starting tomorrow! You can find all the details here. It’s a lot of fun; I hope you’ll join us! Oh, and there’s a cash prize of $250 too!
Ashley, I love, love, LOVE this! For several months I’ve been starting my day by posting 5 things I’m thankful for on Facebook. Sometimes these are quite mundane, such as being thankful that the dog pooped in the backyard. I read somewhere that it is not possible to be both thankful and depressed, so this is one of the methods I chose to fight depression. Beats the heck out of drugs.