OK so this is my very first blog. I think I may just have joined the new millineum, many years late. See, this is not new for me, this lateness thing. I am bumbling my way through this world, a dreamy writer-chic somewhat successfully disguised as A Regular Mom. I never live up to my own standards -- probably never will -- but somehow, we get through it intact. My kids get to school each day, dressed and (mostly) prepared and are pretty happy there. My husband and I make it to work (I'm a part-timer and a part-time freelance article writer). We pay the bills. We manage to scrape together some semblance of family life and household functioning in this nutty world. And we usually take it all much too seriously.
See, we have a few quirks. My eldest child of three has been diagnosed with juvenile bipolar disorder. He was actually diagnosed early -- thankfully -- but that's another post. He also has ADHD -- and so do I. We're creative types, don't ya know? So you can imagine the challenges that must face all five of us -- and let's be real, here, me as the anti-by-nature-June-Cleaver -- in mid-November, knee-deep in school projects and field trips and facing the upcoming holidays with false bravado.
I thought for my first series of posts, I'd blog about trying to get the hut into shape. I have no delusions of transforming us into something from Better Homes and Gardens, say, or Southern Living. I'd just like to be able to find the kitchen table -- and maybe the one in the dining room in time for Thanksgiving Dinner.
At this stage, you need to know two things about me. (1) I must always have a plan. (2) You must always expect that I can and will drop the plan if and when a different whim strikes.
That disclaimer set, let's make some goals here:
1. Find out what things are most meaningful to my family about Thanksgiving and Christmas, and strive to enjoy those things in a peaceful manner instead of driving myself and my poor family through them holding tightly to the reins of perfectionism.
2. Get the house in decent *enough* shape that we don't (a) trip over anything and wind up in the ER, (b) we can have someone stop by and actually be allowed *in* the house where I can carry on a conversation without being drowned out by the critic in my head shouting about what a mess the house is, and (c) we can find the gifts and foods that we manage to purchase and bake prior to the end of December.
I think I'll stop there, ha. If I can pull off at least #1, I'm golden. Dare I dream of #2? See my feeling is that getting the house in a bit more order will make #1 easier, so I'm going to work on that premise a bit.
Flylady is my gal. She's the patron saint of disorganized moms, especially right-brained, creative ones. So I'll be sure to use some of her advice. Flylady Website I find that there's so much info on her website that it's tough to figure where to start, but I've worked the program long enough to know the basics and to realize it works when I do the stuff. I've also realized that I can't manage the emails, so I don't get them at the moment. Like everything, that could change.
I'm a sucker for any type of Holiday Plan, Grand Countdown, etc. Give me some numbered, bulleted steps and I feel the order I crave even if I don't carry them through as written. It's a start. The rest is just living. So which plan to choose? There are a thousand. I think this will be the subject for post #2, which I'll write right now because I'm nothing if not erratic and impatient to start. Also, I'm off work today, so no time like the present.
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