Once I had kids I lost a lot of that. I've accepted that my house will always be cluttered. That the laundry will never be caught up. That I'll be always be late (this one is the hardest for me).
But I've tried to maintain some control. I can't go downstairs in the morning until my bed is made. I refuse to let dirty dishes sit in the sink overnight. And I sweep the floor multiple times a day, trying to keep up with the constant trail of crumbs my children drop on the floor when eating.
Yesterday I discovered a new way to satisfy my obsessive need for order. Will has always been the one to do this particular household chore. I never had any interest in it and it just kind of became his job. But we were busy so I offered to do it.
Yesterday I mowed the lawn for the first time. And OMG I discovered my happy hour. I loved everything about it. I was outside in the sunshine. Between the front, side and backyard I got more than 6,000 steps on my FitBit. Nobody was asking me for a drink or a snack. It was so peaceful.
I loved seeing it go from messy to manicured in seconds. I loved the challenge of making the lines as straight as possible. For someone who loves things to be symmetrical, mowing the lawn provides instant gratification. I think I did a pretty good job for my first try and I'm already thinking of how I can improve the turning radius next time to get tighter turns.
My house might be messy inside but damn it I have the ability to make my lawn look good! And for a former neat freak, that makes me very happy.
And you wondered why I was out there all this time. Now you know!
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