Letting Myself Off the Hook

I am realizing more and more that I am a mood-driven task accomplisher.  But I've always felt pressure to be disciplined and more even-keeled when it comes to the daily chores of life.

Insert tension.

Some days I'm great at living "in the moment," not letting the to do list loom over the spontaneousness that is life with two small kids (slash life in general).  Yet other days I just have the "git-er-done" bug in me and I fly through the to do list and even tack on some bonus items.  (Those days I feel pretty superwoman-ish.)

Then there's the days I'm not in the mood to just go with the flow but not bitten by any sort of bug besides the, "barely-keeping-up-with-feeding-and-diapering-the-kids" one.  The days I feel like I've woken up a half hour behind (as if there was a schedule).  The days naptime is a super treat just so I can sit for a few uninterrupted minutes knowing I'm not absent-mindedly allowing Caitlin's 'lip balm art' in the other room.

I've heard great solutions too, like setting routines, getting up before the kids to have "me" time, planning activities, meal planning so it doesn't always feel last minute, etc.  Such great ideas.  If I'm honest though, usually I'm thinking about these on the days I've already accomplished 50 things and am on the productivity high.  It just doesn't translate well to the days I'm not in the mood to begin with.

A part of me wishes I was on top of everything and had a specific time to fit in all the needs and some of the wants of life.  Unfortunately, as a recovering perfectionist these kinds of ideas seem all too accomplishable and usually leave me extra frustrated when it just ain't coming together for long.

So I hereby let myself off the hook to "have it all together."  I will be up front with you that I will likely be late to our appointment.  I will give myself grace to call people back within a few days and not necessarily right away.  I will enjoy the days I do have a plan in place and I will back off my expectations on the other six days in the week when I don't (haha).  The laundry will not be ruined sitting unfolded in baskets, my room will not cease to be a place of rest when my dresser is cluttered and I can dig our scarves and mittens out of storage the day we need them.  My floors will likely never look clean and I will probably always have some kind of pile in my closet. (It actually kind of bothers me to type these things...ahhh! let gooo, Allison!)

I declare faith that the most important things will get done --even though they might change from day to day and mood to mood-- and throw my hands up to acknowledge and praise the One whose power that sustains me in the everyday.