Not even good enough

I used to feel more together than I do these days.  Never completely together, but like I had a handle on one or two areas of my life.  Maybe I would be on top of my work and still be growing in my faith; or perhaps I’d be exercising regularly and growing some good friendships.

Then I had kids, and I soon had to give up on feeling like even one area of my life was in control. It really bothered me at first, and I spent a lot of time feeling guilty about all of the things I wasn’t doing.

Then I had a breakthrough:  I lowered my standards.  I decided that “good enough” would be my new ideal in the various areas of life.  The kids’ clothes aren’t ironed, but they’re clean — good enough.  The biggest weeds are pulled out of the garden, but there are some small ones left — good enough.  Supper is anything but gourmet, but it’s hot — good enough.

I still get bothered sometimes by the things that aren’t being done well (or at all), but then I happily remind myself that it’s all good enough and carry on.

The problem is that, as I’ve been taking on more paid work, I’ve been trying to cram more and more into our lives and the good enough standard has been lowered to the point where it really isn’t good at all.

Case in point:  This week, my dad dropped by and, upon entering the house, started to take off his shoes like any Canadian does when going into a home.  Tasha saw what he was doing and said, “Grandpa, don’t bother taking off your shoes.  This place is already really dirty.”

(This from the girl who regularly and cheerfully turns any habitable space into chaos.)

So I think I need to re-evaluate my standard when it comes to housecleaning.  Surely I can do better, especially after reading Rachel’s inspirational (or, for me, guilt-inducing) ideas for cleaning.

Or maybe just reading about cleaning is good enough?

Image by krisandapril