That darn Chaos!!

Well, it seems that chaos has come back over for a visit. I didnt invite him; at least I dont think I did. He is a sneakie little monster and he can slowly creap his way in the door without my even noticing and before I know it he has taken over room by room. Luckily he doesnt have a very strong hold on things so I will be able to give him his walking papers and reclaim our home. I think I need a sign for my door which reads "no chaos allowed". :-)

I will admit I think I know where he was hiding this time. It was in my garage and when we brought things into the house he just jumped right out of the boxes and began to dance all around the room; leaving a book here, a sock there, and that ever strange box of game pieces that have lost their way with random pencils, cassette tapes and "oh yeah there that is" kind of stuff. Please tell me this happens to other people too.

There is an obvious level of disfunction that chaos causes in our home, that part I get, I can see it and understand it. The underlying quiet dysfunction is the part I really dislike. It is that uphill struggle, everything is difficult, the flow disappears and just getting from point A to point B within our day is a chore. When things are straight, there is a fluid flow from thing to thing within our rhythm. I can see how critical housework is in what I am attempting to do with my family. It isnt just about having a clean home, it is about having a nurturing space to grow and live in. I have been doing really, really well with my housework since we officially bought our home in October. Ocassionally though I blink and chaos has returned. If I miss one, ONE round of chores, it takes hold. Do you know how much pressure that is to have to ALWAYS be on task? Of course you do. Do you know how difficult it is for ME to always be on task? I can do it for a long time, but man a gal can use a bit of an exhale every now and again. I wish I could get housework hypnotherapy which could help me tap into that hidden reserve of energy I havent been able to locate.

Seriously though, for anyone who reads this regularly you know about my ongoing struggles with housework. I seem to be spending a large portion of my time pondering the hows and whys of housework, and more specifically my own personal struggles with it. If you only knew how perfectly clean the homes I grew up in were you would understand how ironic it really is. I literally lived in a model home, well not my room of course. Geez, it is so pathetic to think that my own rebellion could be so obvious and lame. :-) I often joke that keeping my house messy is my attempt at raising children who will keep their homes in a more balanced manner. Too clean and they will be slobs, too messy and they will be neurotic clean freaks. The level of messy vs organized is really a balancing act. LOL Im obviously kidding, but yet......

Okay, Ive consumed enough coffee to prepare for battle. Now all I need is my theme music and to hope that the kids will cooperate with a housework day. By cooperate I mean not follow me from room to room undoing all that I do. We will work our regular morning rhythm today but we will not have lessons. Instead we will continue to find places for the things we have brought in from the garage. I have come to really respect the everything needs a place rule. Chaos has a harder time with the whirlwind when things know where they are supposed to live. This will help me with next weeks lessons too. Our supply closet (games, craft items, paper storage) is under attack and is crying out for back-up. So I am going in!!!!