Thinking about that, I've determined there are 2 reasons I have slacked off on/learned to relax about the condition of our home:
1) It is SO difficult to work and work, only to turn around, sometimes before I'm even finished, and see that it is already getting messy again, sometimes looking as if I'd never done anything at all.
I tore apart the whole rangetop the other day in my conviction to be more thorough and involved; more 'present' in household happenings and care. But by dinner that night, the spatters and crumbs were back, requiring the whole thing be taken into pieces to get it sparkling again. --Hmm. Might not 'sparkling' be overrated? This sure doesn't mean that it never gets cleaned, but I've learned to accept that our stove looks like we use it.2) During times I've decided that sparkling is NOT overrated, but is really the way I'd like things, and the way they should be, I can feel the frustration rise in trying to keep things neat, or get angry at those I love, who, in the process of living life as children, mess things up, forget to do as asked (again), or leave things awry. I notice that I get much more nuts about things that are close to clean and perfectly positioned, but aren't, than things which are generally haphazard. Our home can be more comfortable and welcoming with a certain amount of clutter, than it is at shiny clean with an uptight, clean-freak of a mom.
I'm hoping, though, that my extra contributions of late will get us to some point in the middle. I'm hoping to hear something like, "Wow... The house is looking so much nicer than it used to." And... I'm hoping it will motivate everyone else to help keep it that way.
