Monday April 28, 2014

I remember loving Peeps as they got older and chewier, but more than once I Peeped myself into the next size bathing suit when summer was just around the corner.  Here it is a week since the Easter Bunny came and it’s my guess that you and your family have had your fair share of chocolate in the shape of bunny ears and eggs.

I wonder if in a thousand years from now when anthropologists study our current society they’ll be perplexed at the fact that we celebrate with sugar. Two hundred years ago, the average American ate only 2 pounds of sugar a year. In 1970, we ate 123 pounds per year. Today, the average American consumes almost 152 pounds of sugar in one year!

My blog on Wednesday Hey DING DONG (it’s not about the cupcakes) has to do with procrastination and it occurred to me that a great decision to stop putting off would be a decision to stop eating sugar.

One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to quit complaining and judging in 2014. But that was over three months ago and although I’ve cut way back, I’m not very proud of myself, especially because of what happened to me today. I had a wake-up call from CW (Crotchety Watch). It’s sort of a make-believe software program installed in my mind (upon request in prayer) on New Year’s Eve. It stands guard, monitoring my thoughts and although it doesn’t censor what comes out of my mouth, it sends a communiqué (and a small electric shock) which is supposed to train me to be aware of my thoughts and ultimately be nicer. Perhaps after today I should ask for the Deluxe Crotchety Watch which actually stops tetchy talk from leaving my lips.

I’m not sure what happened today, if it’s my age or that I’m just recovered from a mean virus or because the weather’s so unpredictable this time of year. BLEEP! Damn, CW just caught that complaint about the weather. (Maybe I shouldn’t have adjusted the sensitivity level feature since the mishap today.) Oy vey. Anyway, here’s what happened.

See there’s a bank I hate, BLEEP! but still have to go to because I have one last account I haven’t switched over to my new bank. (I’ve got too many checks left that I want to use.) I won’t tell you the name of the bank, but you’d know it if I did. Let’s just say it’s a bank in America. Anyway, I went into the place with a subconscious chip on my shoulder to deposit a check into my House Fairy Inc. checking account.

The teller was a very young, beautiful girl, but with limited skills in social communication. BLEEP! (That is NOT a judgment, that’s the truth, damn it!) BLEEP!

Happy Monday Morning Mom! There’s something very special about this Monday, because it follows Easter and it carries with it the promise of new beginnings. Take some time today and all this week to be still and feel the new birth and growth all around you. 

Feel the joy you felt as a very young child, free of worry and concern and focus on the warmth of the spring sun as you breathe in the fresh spring air. Let the blossoms remind you of the miracle you are and bask in the beauty of this season. Spring assures us of another chance to grow and blossom into our potential. 

Drenched and Delirious

 

Coming out of my chorus rehearsal the other night, I got caught in a downpour trying to get to my car! It was one of those Hollywood rains. You know, the kind you see in the movies.

We natives of the Pacific Northwest don’t usually have umbrellas, because we have dashability. We dash when we have to, but I hadn’t done a night dash in such a deluge in a long time.

There are 100 women in my chorus and we all dashed out into the torrential darkness at the same time. There was sort of a cheery pandemonium. The parking lot is about the size of a football field and as I ran toward what I thought was my car (I’d hit the unlock button) taillights were going on everywhere and I inadvertently got into one of our baritone’s car. I knew instantly it wasn’t my car, because she almost fell in on top of me. We shared a wet hug and a giggle and I headed to the car next door. My glasses were fogged and streaked and it was hard to find the door handle, but I did. The door was locked. Wrong car again.

It's Monday.  Let's see what wonders the new week holds!

 

On this beautiful Monday morning, I’m excited about our week. I decided to call my Monday email to you, Monday Morning for Mom. Let’s celebrate the start of our week, knowing it holds so many gifts of joy and love. Let’s don’t get so involved with our “to do” lists that we forget to be.

I love the work of Doe Zantamata! She inspires me with words of happiness and hope. Today let’s be who we really are. No lies, no acts, just be you. You are awesome and you have a fabulous week ahead of you. I hope you’ll let the House Fairy help you to motivate your children to keep their rooms neat and tidy while I help you have more fun with them. They grow up so fast ya know.

I decided this week’s theme is laughter and joy. With spring moving in, it just seems to lighten everyone up. I thought I’d include in today’s email a link to someone who cracks me up. I hope he makes you laugh too. I use YouTube videos for instant laughs whenever I get a little down.

The weather in March is unpredictable and it reminds me of the challenges of raising happy, healthy organized children. Every day is different and moms have to learn to be flexible and handle the ever-changing bodies and personalities of their children, year-in and year-out. As a mom, and in my career helping disorganized moms create peace and order in their homes, I learned that the less clutter there is, the more peace there is.

Think about what Mother Nature does with her planet with the changing of the seasons. She starts over every year. She de-clutters all through the winter, leaving it looking naked of life and then in the month of March, she starts to usher in spring and gives hope that the harshness of winter will soon be over. As spring peeks through the barren landscape it promises freshness and new life.      

De-cluttering is a family affair  

 

A Clean Kitchen Sink Can Bring World Peace

I received an email from a dear friend in Indiana, telling me about a woman in her state, Elinor Ostrom, who received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics. What caught my friend’s attention was this comment by Elinor: "The family is a governance unit. And the kitchen sink is a commons." My friend is a journalist who wrote a feature story in the Los Angeles Times about Sidetracked Home Executive: from pigpen to paradise, the first book my sister and I wrote together. She is very familiar with my work helping homemakers get organized. That’s why the comment grabbed her. She sent me the article (which I read) and it linked me to Elinor’s talk at Indiana University (which I listened to).

Those unmade beds and a sink full of dirty dishes didn’t mean I didn’t love my family or my home.

Shakespeare said, “Nothing is either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” I happen to think Dandelions are beautiful! From the first fistful I received from my toddler who had joyously picked a bunch for me (with one-inch stems) I’ve always regarded them with love.

The most important lesson I’ve learned in my long life is that I am good and so is everyone.

I’m a reformed slob. I made the decision to get organized on June 16, 1977. I was 35. I learned a lot through that transformation. The most important of which was to understand that before I did one thing to organize my chaotic life, I was alright just the way I was. That backed-up laundry didn’t make me a bad person. Those unmade beds and a sink full of dirty dishes didn’t mean I didn’t love my family or my home. Having to re-inoculate the children because I couldn’t find their medical records when we moved to a new town didn’t mean I was a bad mother.

My challenge to change my ways came from a deep desire to have more fun and be able to do it guilt-free. I wanted to feel the freedom that a routine and habits give to mundane tasks. I wanted my household to run smoothly so my family and I could really enjoy this delicious thing called life. My motive to get organized was to have more free time to play.

The Crotchety Watch

One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to quit complaining and judging in 2014. But that was over two months ago and although I’ve cut way back, I’m not very proud of myself, especially because of what happened to me today; I had a wake-up call from CW (Crotchety Watch). It’s sort of a software program installed in my mind (upon request in prayer) on New Year’s Eve. It stands guard, monitoring my thoughts and although it doesn’t censor what comes out of my mouth, it sends a communiqué (and a small electric shock) which is supposed to train me to be aware of my thoughts and ultimately be nicer. Perhaps after today I should ask for the Deluxe Crotchety Watch which actually stops tetchy talk from leaving my lips.