Monday Morning Messes

Does your house look like this on Monday mornings?

messy floor

Sometimes I’m amazed at how much recovery my house needs after the weekend.  But then, sometimes it needs it every 2 hours.  Toys, shoes, socks, games, castoff items from school backpacks…

messy floor 2

Whenever my house looks like this, I try to remember a quote I read as a new mom many years ago.  It’s lengthy, but worth reading.  Let me share:

“Trying to look at clutter with more spiritual eyes taught me two things.  First, I tried to understand the nature of clutter itself — what does clutter represent?  What things do we regard as clutter?  Toys played with and not put away, dirty dishes to be washed, coats not hung up, books read and not put away.  Toys, dishes, clothes, books; children, food, warmth, intelligence.  Clutter is a by-product of life being lived.  Clutter is a mirror reflecting some of our sweetest blessings.  Go ahead — look at this mess.  Look at this beautiful, wonderful mess.  Thank you, Lord.  Now let’s tidy up.

“The second thing I learned about clutter is what it is not.  Unlike the spiritual qualities of purity, order, and beauty, clutter is temporal.  The word temporal is closely related to another word: temporary.  Clutter and dirt are temporary.  Order, purity, and beauty are permanent.  Always there.  Always to be found.  Sometimes quite buried but there nonetheless.  Pick up and wash, and there they are.  They were there all along.  As spiritual principles, order, purity, and beauty are not only true, but they are also attributes of God himself and of the god-nature within us.  As we pick up the clutter, wipe away the dirt, and beautify our homes, we are allowing those attributes freer expression.  When we clean, order, and beautify our homes, we bless our homes, and our work becomes a holy work, a work that can feed our spirits and sustain our souls.”

– Joan B. MacDonald, from The Holiness of Everyday Life, Deseret Book Company, 1995, p.20-21 My wish for you this morning and every morning:  May your spirit be fed as you take care of the evidence of your greatest blessings:  family.

Have a great day!

Jennifer

Dumping

I guess it’s been one of those weeks.  You know, the kind when although you can name at least three specific times when it was sunny, it still feels like it’s been gray all week.  So I’m giving myself permission to record 5 complaints and then I’m going to take a deep breath and move on (meaning, clean the house, or the kitchen at least).

1.  I’m not yet accustomed to what it means to have a bunch of almost teen-aged boys in my house.  I’m not used to the noise, the food, the mess.  I’ve got to figure this one out, but right now all it does is give me a headache.  Today when I offered some food to them to eat, I discovered later that they had just eaten the top layer off the ENTIRE pan!  Seriously?!  And then I thought of President Hinckley and how he said to just look the other way, so I did.  It’s still sitting there.  So are the dishes they left all over the place.

2.  I feel like I’ve been quilting my Rouenneries quilt…   FOR. EVER.  I decided to do a diamond quilt pattern on it, and it’s so full of flaws that I don’t know whether to cry at how imperfect it is, or to cry that it’s still not done.

Rouenneries quilting

3.  I should remember that the days when I want most to enjoy a bit of quiet, or a small space of cleanliness and beauty, will be the days when it is loudest and messiest.  Especially when you’re potty training a cute little boy.  You never know what sorts of things will happen.  We’ll just say they’ve been happening.

4.  Much as you love your children, is it OK to have times when you’re just not sure you can handle being in the same building with them?  I have one particular child who screams more than the other 7 put together.   Sometimes screaming children are more frustrating than other times, even when I know that the variable that changed is my tolerance level, not the screaming level.  But if I do go deaf early, I’ll know whose lungs caused it.

5.  I’ve said this a million times before, but I’ll say it again.  I really, really, really look forward to having my Heavenly Father explain to me someday why my hormone levels had to be so closely connected to my emotions.  In particular, I’d like to know why my body is wired for postpartum blues that last much longer than normal.  Sometimes I feel like I really need to understand it NOW, but mostly I’m resigned to understanding it someday when it probably won’t seem so important to me.  For now, though, I’m a little tired of days when you know that nothing out of the ordinary is wrong, yet you feel like crying or hiding or running away or some combination of the three.

OK.  I just dumped my 5 negative things.  I’m done.  Move on.  Life is good.  It’s the weekend, right?!?  Hope yours is a good one.

Winter Wonders

It was one of those mornings.  The fog was so thick I couldn’t see further than the house next door.  I could feel the moisture in the cold air.  My hair dryer was broken (so I’ll just let you imagine how I looked).  I discovered that my children had ruined something I cared about (and it was brand new, too!) and I couldn’t find my keys.

After calling my husband to complain, I grabbed the spare keys and headed out for the kindergarten carpool.  As I turned the corner, I happened to notice the frost on some weeds by the side of the road.  I turned around, went home, grabbed my camera, and went back to park by the side of the road.  I gave myself 5 minutes to capture some of the wonder which the fog had made possible.

I’m SOOO glad I did.  Just a few minutes taking pictures as the sun finally managed to penetrate the fog changed my whole day.  I hope that the beauty of God’s creations can help make yours a little better, too!

frost on weeds


frost on weeds 2

Thistles.  Simple, but now beautiful as well.

frost on thistle


frost on thistles

An oak leaf on the ground.

frost on oak leaf

I think the picture below might be my favorite.  When I look at this, I can’t help but think that all the beauty we work so hard to create doesn’t hold a candle to the brilliance of frost on this bush.  It was like thousands of sparkling stars.

frost


frost on leaves


frost



More weeds.




Ivy climbing up a fence.

frost on ivy


frost on ivy


frost on ivy

Lesson learned.  Next time you need to shake the foggy winter blues, get out IN it!  Grab your camera and a jacket, and give yourself a few minutes to wander around your neighborhood in search of beauty.  You probably won’t need to go farther than your own yard.  Not only will you come home with some gorgeous photos, you will feel better about the fact that it’s winter.  (And if you’re me, you might even think something like “wow, I might be figuring out how to use this camera, after all!”)


Have a wonderful winter’s day!

shed in winter

Hopeful Homemaker

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