The Not-So Perfect Mom
October 17, 2007 
I grew up in a home that was immaculate, spotless and organized. I go off to college and carry on the practice… to keep my little room neat and tidy. Okay, so my mom still washed my clothes on the weekends, but it didn’t effect my laundry capabilities now. I then get married to a umm, a little messy guy. This is where the shift begins to occur.
Fast forward 11 years and here I am in a smaller house with five males (including Marley) and its a struggle… guns, Lego’s, boots, books, and crumbs galore. Its just a different world for me now. I want to teach my boys to pick up after themselves, but I do not want to be a mean tyrant all day.
So my days can be struggles… clean/dirty… organized/cluttered… easy/disarray… I definitely feel out of sorts with a messy house. Trying to homeschool. Trying to be Christ to my kids. Its not easy. I’ve wanted to throw in the towel these last couple of weeks. My problem lies in the perfection aspect. It can’t just be surface clean… it has to be disinfected, organized and lined up to the tee. Its in-grained in me… something that can’t be erased out of my head. The perfectionist side of me is actually making me a mess… and well, not so perfect by any means. Lousy at some times. Quite a mess at other times.
So pray for me as I refocus my attention on number 1… loving God with all my heart. number 2… loving my family. number 3… being Christ to my kids. number 4… teaching my kids. number 5… enjoying my hot husband and a cup of coffee on the side. (numbers 2-5 being in no specific order.)
Will definitely keep you in my prayers as I know this is something that many of us moms deal with on a daily basis. Life is indeed short but a clean home does make us feel better so while not being a mean tyrant, mine have a storage bin that toys have to go in so they are not all over the house and floor. Being Christ means we are also training our boys so when they transition into manhood that they are ready for life and responsibility. Blessings!
This subject touches some emotional buttons! I also live with 5 guys. Four who share one large bedroom which also serves as the toy room and homeschool resource room (we have no basement). The ages of the boys sharing one room: 12, 9, 2 and 10 months. Sound impossible? All things are possible with Christ. Oh, and my husband shares the closet in this room since our small closet isn’t large enough for two. So, what is my encouragement? Patience, creativity and a lot of flexibility. We are constantly seeking new ways to minimize the clutter and maximize the space while keeping it organized and functional everyday. But there are seasons in life when it all falls apart. It’s not the end of the world but I eagerly anticipate the season when we go through the whole room cleaning, sorting, tossing and moving from dysfuntional to functional once again. The key to me being christlike has two sides: attitude and accountability. I hold them accountable for daily pick-up while I am accountable to God for my attitude. For example, not letting candy wrappers, balled up dirty socks and millions of misplaced game pieces ruin my life!
Enjoy your little men while you have them!
Dawn told me she really enjoys your posts, so i had to take a look…good stuff! i can totally see your mom cleaning & ironing everything! check this out:
http://daverendall.typepad.com/dave_rendall/2007/09/neatfreak.html
Thanks, John & Dawn. I liked that link… sounds interesting.
I can totally relate to you on this one except my husband is a perfectionist also. Our poor children:-(
I will pray for you to find a balance between them all.
PS- I’m still looking for those dvds.
Jenna, thanks for the compliments (I guess it’s a compliment to a Type A person). And thanks to John Wammer for remembering our good times – he used to be at the house when I was ironing David’s clothes before he went back to college. Mom