Chores [31 Things I Know]

This I know...

CHORES

...are unavoidable.

[so stop acting surprised & stressing out]

[picture taken last year in our apartment in Ohio while away on business]

 I promise you the clean laundry pile I had today out weighed [literally] the one shown above. In theory, I'd wash and fold two loads a day, but instead I tend to sit down to fold 14 all at one time. Yes, that's about how many I do a week. And I only have 3 kids, Jesus help me when and if we quadruple that. Lately, I figured out my babysitter can fold. Ha! So I've been paying her extra to fold laundry while babysitting, or to just come over and fold laundry. Sad right?

Charles has allowed me to hire her for 15 hours a week to help me with chores, housework, babysitting or homeschooling. Since we've got 4,000+ square feet to keep up with and he's got a pretty demanding job at times---a lot of the household responsibilities fall on me. This is his way of helping me. I'm so thankful. I got off subject, but thought you should know---just in case you thought I "did it all". You may take back the super mom badge you were about to give me. So she folded all my laundry this evening, but still, I wanted to cry all day just thinking about how I hadn't gotten to it yet.

I think I've also successfully paid someone each year to wrap all my Christmas presents because A) I'm awful at it and B) I hate doing it and C) we're usually traveling this time of you so it's easier if someone else has them done for me when I arrive back in town. This year, no excuses, but apparently my babysitter is as handy with tape & scissors as she is with towels & jeans. Off subject again.

So, I say all this to say, I literally walked around my house today saying out loud to calm myself...

"You'll always have more work to be done than time to do it"

"There will always be clothes to wash, dry, fold and put away"

"The kids will always be making another mess somewhere else while you clean this one"

"Everyday there will be dishes to wash again"
"Your house will not look like a museum while you have kids at home all day"

"Your house looks like you allow to be kids"

[this is normal, it's okay]

I was having some major stressing going on today because my mind was in so many places...

---the junk drawers that can barely be opened

---the car that needs a cleaning out [and an entire post to explain how bad it really is]

---the basement that still needs further unpacking and organizing

---dinner [ahhhhhhh!!!!]

---the dirty and clean laundry

---all the cabinets that when I open I wince, and close quickly

I could go on and on. You get the picture. As I'm washing dishes, I'm trying to decide which chore I'll do next and what I'll do with 3 kids while I do that chore. Will I let them run around my piles of folded laundry on the floor, or will I strap them into the carseats while I clean out the car in the garage for an hour? Will I let them play in the unfinished basement while I clean it out? Will I faint if I empty the contents of the junk drawers onto the counters, only to have to leave them for several hours to attend to all the meals, disciplines, lessons, and so on and so forth?

Why am I caught off guard today by the normal daily chores of the car, house, washings, and meals? I can't explain everything in the bible, and I can't explain everything in my life. I think it's safe to say, some days just invoke a little more overwhelmingness [that's not a word] than others. I just kept telling myself to put one foot in front of another. At the end of the day, with the help of my husband, children and babysitter all is well with the Georgi house. Everything isn't finished, but is it ever?

To my sistas who tend to get overwhelmed like me---I think it's only appropriate to refer to the much overused and cheesy saying "Keep Calm & Carry On". Or in my case, Keep Calm & Clean On".