Thursday, June 11, 2015

Because the bare minimum is actually good enough

Oh the vaccum cleaner. I've posted before how it is said to have damned all future generations of people who have a space that could be vacuumed. Before its invention, that level of clean would not have been sane.

I've had long lists in my life these last few weeks. In my head, on my phone, on scraps of paper. And although no one is ill, and I'm getting enough sleep and even enough me time (meaning, some each day), I've barely made a scratch. I'm not overworked. My house is most often a mess. My husband has pretty much taken over doing the dishes. But I keep choosing to rest or read or sit, instead of checking just one more thing of my list.

The things I actually check off, I've realized, are the only things that need to be on my list. And that is what I get done - I make sure Baby J has enough milk for an evening and morning bottle. I make sure we have something for dinner (we can discuss the quality of dinners lately...no one is starving, but we all get by with an extra yogurt to make up for some of what I've been cooking). I make sure the dog is covered for walks and food. I do the things on my work list. I pay the bills.

All else is non-essential. The clothes to recycle. The shoes and books to give away. The dress for my daughter to make out of my husband's Star Wars t-shirt. Picking up after pretty much anyone in the house (including myself) except on cleaning woman day.

And at the end of the day, no one has fallen ill because of a book I haven't sent to a friend, or that broken pane of glass that has sat there for over a month now. It will get done. It is out of kid reach, and it will get done.

So enough with all the shoulds. Bare minimum, plus an extra ice cream after kindergarten, is more than enough.