Okay, honestly, there are a lot of domestic arts that I do not enjoy. I detest washing the dishes. Ugh. I can recall my 11th birthday when I had to wash the dishes and thinking it was a huge injustice. Please, just one night of not doing my least favorite thing in all the world...as a birthday gift even. Nope. Pity party. Thankful, I am married to an incredible human who doesn't mind washing, drying and putting the dishes away. He likes to do it. Thank God. If there is every an empty sink not created by him, he knows I was feeling extra amounts of love and generosity.
Yet, other home keeping bring great pleasure in my heart and visual field. Taking care of the clothes and linens in our family is totally cool with me. From finding great deals on clothes for the next season brings me joy. Sorting, organizing and cleaning...these work for me. For example, I found a pair of blue corduroy pants with dogs embroidered on them this summer at the thrift store. I am so excited to give them to the lil Bear when we return to the States. She'll be fascinated and I probably won't be able to keep them clean and dry quick enough. Even in my volunteer work here at the clinic, I so enjoy sorting our donations. I like packing a tiny hat, blanket, onsie and some socks up for a parent to take home. When I saw it being done today as I had to leave for lunch, I was actually disappointed to not stay and help out. I asked them to promise to pull me in next time!
When I get to bake or cook, it's a wonderful act of creation. Simply chopping veggies for dinner's stir fry or apples for pies can burn an hour on those mornings when the gang is content playing. I have answered the door in my apron to be asked, "what are you baking?" only to realize it's been a full morning of food prep and cooking. I get lost in that time and cherish it. I am thankful to wake up to pancakes on most Saturday mornings or fried potatoes here in Bali. But, ultimately, shopping for or growing the goods, then creating a meal or a snack is an act of love. So different from washing dishes in how I feel about doing it, yet equally wonderful when completed. Being in the kitchen is where I know a lot of our homeschool agendas are met. I look forward to day after day and year after year of it. And, I miss my oven and cast iron pans like crazy these days!
I am down with sweeping and raking. I found great strength in chopping and stacking wood this past year and a half, then bringing it in to stoke the woodstove. I like paying the bills, getting the mail and corresponding. A clean counter is a(n eventual) necessity in my days as a homeschoolin' mama. Putting books away, sending toys to bed and carrying up that pile from the stairs just feels right. Walking down in the morning to a neatened up space feels EVEN better.
Clutter and messy mess overwhelm me. I like neat, clean and organized but I am by no means always capable of meeting my own standards. And, I am working to not guilt trip me, my kids or anyone in to staying neat vs. being creative, full of energy and play. My E girl and I agreed that a dirty shirt at the end of the day IS a sign of a great day. She'll remind me before I have time to say anything else. Striking that balance of letting the mess go because it's actually IMPORTANT for them to make is something I am learning more about. Once again, it helps to be married to the most wonderful human around who scrubbed the bathroom floor of my first apartment back in college because he found it too dirty. And, goodness does Bali help me let go of organization and cleanliness! The visual field of a neat space brings me calm in a way that feels crucial so I am learning to wait for the right time to say, "Enough's enough." after a great time of play and creativity.
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