Today is the first day of school. It’s back to routine.
I’m sad. (So sad that I won’t elaborate on just-how-sad out of fear that my computer will be ruined by the flood of tears.)
But the routine does feel good.
I got out of bed at 6 a.m. and immediately stripped the sheets.
I got dressed in my it’s-the-very-first-day-and-I-have-a-kindergartener-so-I-have-to-wear-real-clothes-and-make-up-so-the-teacher-will-like-me outfit.
I changed over a load of laundry that I started last night, and headed into the kitchen to empty the dishwasher. I thawed/warmed some of the sausage biscuits that the kids and I made and froze last Friday. I smiled at and chatted with each kid as he/she got up.
I grabbed the (now THREE) made-last-night lunches out of the fridge, made sure all teeth were brushed and took first-day-of-school photos.
I dropped off kids one and two at different schools and headed to the third where I parked in a not-mowed field along with hundreds of other kindergarten parents and carried a Barbie backpack and held a little hand as we walked into school.
I was “Mo-ooommm!”ed out of the room and held back tears as I trudged again through the field.
I headed to breakfast with a friend (a very strange feeling), and then stopped by the store to grab some chicken on the way home.
I spent ab0ut thirty minutes cleaning the kitchen, and put the chicken in the crockpot.
I drank my coffee and read my Bible and changed over the laundry a few times.
I cleaned out the Suburban, again with the it’s-the-first-day-and-I-can’t-let-the-kindergarten-teacher-in-on-my-slob-secret-quite-yet motivation.
I folded laundry while watching a DVRed Mommy Show (another very strange feeling), and can say that as of this sure-to-be-fleeting moment just before the dryer’s buzzer sounds, every piece of clean clothing is put away . . . some still warm in the drawers.
Sounds great, right?
Except that my house is a wreck. After the glorious routine-free summer, it shows the effects of the full force of my Slob Issues. Somehow, I’ve spent the past few weeks thinking about how I’d be able to make real progress on our home once school started, while not seeing (at all) the things that needed to be dealt with right then.
Stupid Slob Vision.
Yes, I did empty the dishwasher. But it was the clean dishes that sat in there all day yesterday. So the thirty minutes spent cleaning the kitchen barely made a dent in this:
Mmm-hmmmm.
And the thirty minutes were necessary to be able to get one side of the sink empty so I could rinse the chicken.
Mmm-hmmmmm.
And yes, Laundry Day is clipping along well. But I added another load with all of the swim-towels I pulled out of the Suburban.
I’d love to spend this first able-to-focus day working on some big project. Tackling something that I’ve been putting off for years. But instead, I have to make up for the things I’ve been putting off for days. And it’s going to take a full week of doing what I’m supposed to do before I can even maybe start any real projects.
But that’s ok. I enjoyed every single moment of our summer, and even though I do regret not doing a better job of keeping up with my daily tasks, at least I know what daily tasks I should have been doing.
And now I can get back to them.
Did any of you start back to a routine today? How is it going for you?
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Sarah says
My kids start on Wednesday. Only half days for the first 3 days. Hoping to have a clean kitchen…first in 8 years!
PS. Did you know you don’t have to wash chicken anymore? (I have never done it.) Plus, if you wash the chicken, then you must sanitize the sink and faucet and anything else you touched/dripped over. Just stick it in the crockpot or oven! There, now you won’t have to clean off the counter to get to the sink.
(I am a messie, too!)
nena says
OH Gosh I cried when my kids went to kindergarten, and I still tear up every year.. they grow so fast. I have a senior and a freshman and umm a 16 month old 🙂 so in a few years I will cry again lol! Hey turn that timer on for 15 minutes to start the kitchen and play some music form the past lol. That is what I do 🙂
Messie to Messie (HUG)
Nena
Rebekah from Simply Rebekah says
Darn you and your back to school posts!!! I completely teared up when I got to the part about holding your little kindergartner’s hand. UGH!!!
Momof5 says
You can do it!!!! You have really encouraged me that I can change my ways, and from one slob to another, sounds like you are off to a great start!!!! And I TOTALLY cleaned out my Suburban this weekend for the SAME reason. If it looked the same as it did the last day of school, I would have felt really lazy. At least if my cast had still been on, it would have been slightly more understandable.;-)
susan says
Oh my – I have nooo idea what my routine will be this year. Both my girls went to college today. Youngest is a freshman, oldest is working on her BSN., both at new schools starting today. And even though the oldest is on her own this has been the busiest back to school time I have ever had!! I hate to tell you – they never stop needing mommy. I miss the kindergarden days!! Now mine text me all day long from school.
Maybe in a few weeks we will find our routine.
Blahahaha !!
Sounds like you are really off to a grat start!!
Ann W. says
and just what were you doing in MY kitchen taking photos of the wreck it is???? LOL thank you so much for being brave and sharing what so many people hide…. the inside…. (of your home AND yourself!!!)
Karen says
Soooooooo………..I homeschool. Dropping the kids off at school and having endless free time to clean the house sounds like a DREAM to me. I am not typically a slob. I was in the military and my house reflected my spic n span military days before I had child #2 (notice, it was still clean until the 2nd child came along and then all hell broke loose once I had the sickly 3rd child). I don’t regret my decision to homeschool., but my oh my do I think about it real hard when the topic of cleaning comes up!!!!!!!! I enjoy reading your blog 🙂
Amy says
I’ve been pretty bummed at the condition of my home this summer. This is when we should be having people over, BBQ’s, and playdates! But my darn house has been holding me back. I remember reading your fear about what would happen to your house over the summer, and I still didn’t see it coming. But yes, I lost all control and order.
School starts tomorrow for the older two, and I’m hoping to put some of those hours to good use. The one good thing we have going is that we spent the weekend (while kids were camping with grandparents) decluttering and purging their rooms. It was insanely and embarrassingly overdue, but it feels so good to have gotten rid of so much! And organize what is left. Hoping to keep the momentum going!!!!!
Missy says
Sounds like an absolute glorious day.
I know I’ll be a bucket of tears the day my little goes off on her own for the entire day but for now, I’m looking forward to 3 hours x 3 days a week!
I love those quiet moments to myself – made even sweeter by the excited little face that greets me afterwards.
Suanna says
As a homeschool mom we have a routine we attempt to follow. I know exactly how you feel about not being able to find your sink.
Livin In Duckville says
We don’t start school until September 7th… so I have a couple of weeks yet… the odd thing for me is that I will no longer have a child in Elementary School…. The Lego King will be at the Middle School…. with me! Mwahahahahhaahaa!!!!
I do remember how quiet the day seemed the first day EVERYONE was at school for the first time…. lonely…. you will get through the quiet & the loneliness…. AND the house cleaning….
It reminds me when I talk with someone about how God has once again led me back to the same path I was on before…. because, I didn’t learn the lesson He was trying to teach me the first time (or the second or third, etc)… I KNOW this path… I’ve been on it before…. and yes, it’s become overgrown… and I have to struggle to get through it, once again, (every other time I have to repeat the same darn path)but each time it’s easier… easier because, I remember the twists & turns… the ups & downs… I know I can walk that path again…. hopefully getting the lesson He’s trying to teach me…. if not, I’m sure I’ll get to walk it again…
Kimberly says
*sigh*
I homeschool as well…. Your day just sounds blissful… dirty dishes and all!
We are starting back up with all subjects next week. One of the kiddos’ “subjects” is “home management”! They will have a small chore to do every day (usually the things I don’t like to take the time to do – like dust the chair rails…)
Of course, this is in my perfect world… 😉 We will see how well they comply.
Virginia says
OHhhh, so sad thinking about you having to take your kindergartner. Sniff……
Mary S says
I have always been a slob when it comes to cleaning house.I was Daddy’s helper and never learned how and boy does it show.Last summer I fell and hurt my back and was pretty much laid up for almost 6 months then the dishwasher broke and you can imagine what my house looked like with 3 males and 1 female.I am just now starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.I homeschool our oldest but with both children having autism and other problems and Hubby working full time its pretty much up to me to take care of everything.At least you didn’t put your dirty dishes in boxes to hide them.I only have 2 boxes left to wash and I’m proud of myself.Of course my MIL and older sister would have a stroke if they knew but I’m not telling and they don’t have a computer so I’m safe for now.Trust me when I say your not alone honey.
Karen says
I wish I could come wash your dishes for you!!! I don’t see anything wrong with putting your dishes in a box. You gotta do what you gotta do. My hubby has had 7 (yes 7) serious surgeries since we’ve been married for 12 years and I’ve kept the house going..the yard…everything…..but I often wonder what on earth would happen if it was ME who was down. I’m not trying to pat myself on the back or build myself up, but in all seriousness….who in the world would keep this little bit of cleaning I do up? I do it all….so girl….if you had to resort to boxing up those dirty dishes, I now know how I will be able to endure. Although I’m still praying that I’m wrong and my hubby and boys will miraculously “step up” if the time ever comes that they need to, lol. I’m sending a thousand hugs your way.
Mary @ Giving Up on Perfect says
Oh, friend. “Stupid Slob Vision” – I KNOW! Why do we think these things?? I was just struggling with this same thing. I wrote down a simple cleaning schedule from a blog and only realized yesterday that I can’t even start it until I get the house under control in the first place. Again. *sigh*
Dawn says
My kids start school tomorrow and, though I DREAD them leaving me, the one thing I am looking forward to is establishing a routine again. We have all become so scatter brained this last month and its making everyone crabby!
Slob with OCD says
Nony,
I am in the same straights with two weeks to go until littlest goes back to preschool, and oldest starts school next week, but short days.
I did so much project stuff in May and June, and it feels like it didn’t help at all. After a summer of emergencies and traveling, I still feel as buried as ever. I am trying to remember what I learned from the first few months of your blog. That doing something you did yesterday (like clean the kitchen or vacuum) takes a lot less time than doing something you last did last week, or more.
Trying to push the rock uphill, hope I make it.
Nicole says
I was so proud of myself today that I started the dishwasher (I overfilled it yesterday), did laundry (brought downstairs by hubby yesterday) and still had time to read. Until I looked at all the dog hair and dog-bed-fluff all over the floor and couldn’t find the kitchen counters.
I just started homeschooling this summer, I am so missing the first day of school, tomorrow would have been his first day. Instead, I have a 15 year old lounging around, a 1 year old trying to walk, and a 8 week old coming home from the NICU in a few weeks! Let me know if you figure out that schedule!
LOVE your blog!!!
Fruitful Harvest says
Refreshing!
I’m not alone in the messy kitchen department!
Peace,
Georgiann momma of 6!
American in Norway says
Fantastic blog.. gave me a good chuckle .. I was about to be REALLY jelous of all of the things you got done. Now I better get off my tail & get the table cleaned off before my kiddos get up. 🙂
Knitterknerd says
My transition from slob to organized started so long ago that people assume I’m just naturally this way, and sometimes it even feels like they’re right. (Nope, I just HAVE to over-organize everything to keep the inner slob and laziness in check!) So this blog is special to me in more than one way.
I’ve been reading in order from your oldest posts, and it’s absolutely heartwarming to watch you learn about your limitations and your successes. Those moments when you realize you aren’t as destined for hopelessness as you’ve felt are absolutely magical! And I’ve definitely teared up when you’ve talked about the difference it’s made in your family.
As meticulous as I am, things can still pile up, and once it gets started, it goes downhill quickly. I need a clean space for my brain to be able to focus on cleaning, or anything else, for that matter. I think it’s a leftover ADD symptom. The consequences of not keeping up feel far too high for me. So things feel out of control even when they aren’t that bad, and sometimes they really do get out of control, but now it’s only in a closet or room at a time. There are still highs and lows, but the lows aren’t as low as they used to be. It sounds like you’re experiencing that in this post, and it makes me so happy for you!
My absolute favorite thing about this particular post, though, is that you’ve learned not to see a bad day–or a bad few months–as failure. It’s so easy to see those days as proof that it’s impossible, but you’re learning here that it isn’t failure until you give up. These things are so incredibly valuable, and they aren’t things that you can simply be taught. You can know that they’re true, but you have to experience them to fully believe them.
A friend of mine who struggles with similar things is enjoying your blog and learning from it after I gushed about it. But I’m learning a lot from you, too. I’m learning about patience with myself and others, about forgiveness, about being honest with myself, about priorities and compromise… I’m looking forward to continuing to learn from you, and to seeing how much improvement you’ve seen from sticking with this very brave, incredibly difficult, emotionally exhausting, amazingly rewarding journey!
Mandy says
I know this post is almost 10 years old (I’m reading backwards), but it made me tear up. We are headed into the home stretch of schooling with our kids and it makes me miss them being this age. Thank you for being so raw with your readers.