I came home late tonight from a meeting at the boys’ school and everyone in the house was asleep except for Natalie, who was wandering around the house by herself. (No comment.) I gave her her medicine and tucked her in, jumped online to renew some library books and shoot off a few overdue emails, switched over a load of laundry, and went back upstairs to see if there was any dinner left. I stared at the pile of dishes in and around my sink. I groaned. This is the conversation that happened in my head:
I should probably clean these dishes.
(Rolling eyes.) I’m too tired.
But if I don’t do it, I’ll start out the day with things already undone.
I put away all the perishable food; that’s good enough.
It still looks like a mess though, and it will only get worse tomorrow when the kids get up. Look how quickly everything went downhill just today.
Sigh. I KNOW, but I really just don’t want to. Oh good, Matt cleared the table.
Man, I’ve got to get on top of this stuff. How can I have the Spirit in the home if I can’t keep it clean?
Let it go. You don’t need the Spirit in the kitchen sink.
So I decided to write a blog post and go to bed instead.
(Despite the color coding, I’m still not absolutely sure which one was the angel and which was the devil. It’s debatable.)
Kristina P.
February 9, 2010 at 12:33 am
Excellent call.
DeNae
February 9, 2010 at 12:58 am
Oh my gosh! Are we sharing a brain? I spent the weekend feeling like a complete failure because no matter how hard I try I can NOT get on top of the housework. Seriously. I’m talking “no right to live” failure.
I think I need to find better balance, because I tend to do a whole week of “I don’t need the spirit in my sink”. And then I’m so overwhelmed and stressed because of the mess, I don’t have the spirit in ME.
It’s all about balance, baby. Let me know if you find it, and send it my way.
imjetta
February 9, 2010 at 1:48 am
LOLOL, I think I’m having the same angel/devil conversation here
Kimberly
February 9, 2010 at 7:12 am
I think the angel is the one who wanted you to get some sleep. A messy sink is easier to face when you’re not exhausted!
Shoebox Princess
February 9, 2010 at 7:12 am
Paper plates.
If the dishes need to be done (or the house needs to be clean) to have the Spirit in the house then my house has been without the Spirit for a very long time.
You can’t have the Spirit if you don’t get some rest either.
Why do we think the house needs to be clean every minute of the day? There is a time and place for everything including mess.
Charlotte
February 9, 2010 at 7:47 am
I have this conversation almost nightly. Usually Mr Red won, but then I started a housekeeping contest blog with my sisters and those points for doing dished swung Mr. Blue into favor.
InkMom
February 9, 2010 at 9:32 am
Sigh. I’m so with you. And DeNae. And everyone else. Did you know I have curtains up in my living room that are just tacked, not sewn all the way? They have been that way for SEVEN YEARS. A couple of times a year, I tell my husband that I’m going to finish the curtains “tomorrow”. And then something else happens and I decide I don’t “need the Spirit in my living room curtains.”
But today? Seriously. I’m going to finish them!
Diane
February 9, 2010 at 10:08 am
You all make me laugh because I so remember the days! My house is empty but for me and the hubby and it is always clean. I miss the cluttery (is that a word?) days. Like was said before some things are easier to do after a good nights rest. The Spirit can only be in a house that is lived in. At least you made dinner and most of the kids were in bed!
Becky
February 9, 2010 at 10:26 am
I have that conversation all the time. I have pretty much decided that if I have to make dinner and set the table, then I should not have to do the dishes too.
Amber
February 9, 2010 at 1:01 pm
Yeah, I see this one daily, even when I’m not tired!
wonder woman
February 9, 2010 at 2:27 pm
I almost never do the dishes at night. Night is my time, or spouse time. I work better in the day.
“I don’t need the Spirit in the kitchen sink.” Definitely the best sentence I’ve read today.
Marianne
February 9, 2010 at 2:53 pm
I have made a goal to clean or pick up just ONE room a day. No Matter What. So the Spirit can go into one room and that is good enough. The rest of the house is always a wreck. Because I can guarantee that when I’m cleaning the bathroom, the kids are destroying the living room. Or dumping crackers all over the kitchen floor. Or squirting out all of the toothpaste in the other bathroom. Ect.
But I will agree that the Spirit is almost never in my sink. As soon as you do the dishes someone will be hungry again and it will all start over…
Julie
February 9, 2010 at 10:20 pm
I *love* this. Real life!
MarY
February 10, 2010 at 12:47 am
Your devil voice is pretty tame. Mine would be yelling at me to go wake up my husband and demand he clean up the mess, and mop the floor while he’s at it. My Angel voice would tell me he can leave the floor till morning.
Christine
February 10, 2010 at 1:06 pm
That last sentence was SO what I needed to hear today. “I don’t need the Spirit in my kitchen sink.” Phew.