::Serendipity::

More Self Realization ________________________________________________________________

You know, I thought all this time I was just depressed. It turns out that I was that, yes, but that I was also a lazy bones. I thought (hoped) that part of my depression was this constant lack of motivation to clean the house. No, come to find out I have a major character flaw that Zoloft cannot cure. DARNIT!

Thankfully, I have good kids. And they all have chores, because there are seven of us living in this house and frankly, it's ridiculous for me to have to do everything by myself when I have very able bodied little people who are as capable as I am. Riley and Maggie load and unload the dishwasher. Riley upkeeps the kitchen (well, sort of) and everyone is in charge of putting away their own laundry. Emily cleans the bathroom (I take care of cleaning the toilet though, because it's a nasty job I don't want my petite darling to have to do it... shhh... don't tell daddy). Maggie vacuums and folds towels. Tim keeps the front room straight and picks up the living room. These jobs aren't always completed to my satisfaction. More often then not, I have to wipe down the counters behind the appliances or vacuum in the dining room because someone forgot. Sometimes, when I'm in proper training mode, I call the child back in and show them what they missed and have them take care of it, just like my grandpa used to do for me. And I am now thankful for it. He had patience I've never witnessed in another single living person!

A few years back, I was stressed to a frazzle and the house was a disaster all the time. I couldn't keep up. Either the kitchen was clean, or the living areas were, but I couldn't manage to get them both clean at the same time. Michael, in all his genius, decided that the kids needed to pull their weight. I balked at this. After all, I'm the mother. It's my job to take care of the house, the laundry, the cooking, education, etc. etc. etc. I eventually came to my senses and realized that I wasn't doing my children any favors by doing everything for them. Some day, they will have families of their own and need to know how a dishwasher should be loaded and how to separate darks from lights.

But even with all the kids pitching in, I still have moments of dread when I have more laundry then drawers to put them in. (Odd, since no one ever seems to have enough pants/socks/t-shirts.) The sink is dirty and I just don't feel like cleaning it. The bowl Maggie used to mix up her cake is still soaking. There is a box of videotapes that I have to sort. It's just endless and constant. When one thing is picked up, wait five minutes and there are usually three more things to take it's place. I used to think this was just part of my "blahs" and would eventually go away. Unfortunately, I have realized that it's yet another character flaw I have. I am just lazy! I'd rather be reading! Or napping! Or... anything. But such is life and we all have to do things we don't feel like doing. You know what though? It would be really great if a pharmaceutical company could come up with a pill that would make you want to clean your house. I think that would be the shnizzle, don't you?

So Timmy (call me Timothy) is going to be seven this Friday! And Xander (you're not a salamander) is going to be two this Sunday. I can deal with Tim being seven, because it seems like he's been seven forever. He's sharp as a tack and twice as smart. But my Xander? Nope. I'm not dealing well with that one. In fact if I could buy a new car (we would have grown out of the van, hello Suburban time), I could magically lose weight and we had a few thousand in the bank, I would be throwing away my birth control pills right night. I have empty arm syndrome but bad! Thankfully, I've managed to keep my wits about me.

I thought I would just combine the boys' birthdays on Saturday. Timmy doesn't mind. Xander has no clue. But I don't know... It feels like it takes away from them somehow. So we will probably head to the lake on Saturday to celebrate and I'll make the Cowboy Beans that have become tradition on Timmy's birthday, but I'll be making two cakes and presents will be given on their actual day of birth. Probably. I don't know... AHHH! I'm complicating things, as usual.

Not to mention my stupid birthday cake for breakfast tradition I started. I managed to narrow that down to cupcakes for breakfast, but still. That's a lot of cake and frosting times two. I think we just might get sick of cake around this house in a few days. I never thought that could happen!

posted by Terri at 7/31/2007 12:45:00 PM >5 comments

5 Comments:

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