I love blogging. I’m generally an open person. But I don’t tell any “normal people” about my blog.
Other than my husband, my mother, and two friends who have known me and loved me unconditionally since Jr. High, no one in my real-life world knows.
But sometimes it’s hard to not mention. If it’s been a busy week of posting and linking up to blog carnivals and I’m pumped because I got a new follower, I can only say, “I’ve been really busy.”
I have moments when I think it would be okay to tell someone if it came up. But then I decide that that’s crazy.
See, I’ve made progress. I am a “recovering slob.” But I have such a long way to go. The four people who know, are proud of me because they have the perspective of how bad it’s been in the past. They know that I’ve struggled with this for my entire life and that the fact that my house has so much less clutter and has been generally presentable for multiple months in a row is HUGE.
But “normal” people wouldn’t get it. They’ve never been allowed into the master bedroom. They’ve only been in the house when I’ve worked hard to make it “presentable.”
I sometimes picture the subject coming up while we have people over. (I have no idea how it would come up, but I have a good imagination.) Anyway . . . .
If I knew that people would be shocked and in disbelief, I would tell them in a heartbeat. I would love to hear that they can’t believe that I consider myself a slob when my house looks so fantastic. I would love to sense that they really don’t believe me.
But I’m afraid that instead of that scenario, in reality they would nod a little TOO knowingly. They would unconsciously wrinkle their noses in the direction of the bathroom. Their eyes would dart to a corner of the room that I hadn’t noticed had a dead bug in it.
So I don’t tell. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished, but I still have so far to go. Until I can relax when someone walks by the closed master bedroom door, or even better, leave that door open, I need to keep my mouth shut. Until I can open my van door without having papers fly everywhere, I need to keep my mouth shut.
I hear you! My "hangups" are a bit different, but I'm going to have to admit that many of the people I finally stepped up and told have told (mostly family) have bummed me out a bit by totally not caring. :>) I'd say overall they're not into blogs in general, though, and that isn't a terrible thing.
Anyway, there have been a number of times that I've not blinked twice when people are here and the house is a mess. I need to not like it, though. Complacency is NOT good in this position.
On the upside, I cleared a TON of stuff off two of my "hot spots" – the top of the portable dishwasher and the counter area under the microwave. Both look way better. I gotta keep them that way…
I understand you completely! With 7 kids and homeschooling on top of everyday life, our home is consistently a wreck. This year I am striving to make our house a home.
Hi – new follower here, thought I'd say hi! I love your blog, because I could have written it myself. I LOVE a clean, organized house, but it does NOT come naturally to me. Most days I don't want to do anything! (And lots of days, I don't!) I would love to have a clean house without it being so much work! Sure I have days, even weeks sometimes, where I'm on top of things and the house looks great and I feel amazing. Then it all comes crashing down and I go right into my old ways and everything's a mess again. I hate being such a roller coaster. I want to be one of those who can do it all. But I'm not. I try hard, and blogging helps, because it helps hold me accountable. But sometimes I worry about my "real" friends ("normal" friends) who might read my blog and discover my secret. So I can totally relate.
Anyway…didn't mean to write a book here, just wanted to say hi and let you know you are doing great. It's nice to know I'm not the only slob out there!!!
Welcome Jennifer, I'm glad you found me!
Normal people? No such thing honey! Nobody has a handle on every aspect of life, not even people who seem to have it all together and appear to be totally disciplined (think Tiger Woods!) Everyone is a "secret slob" in some part of their life, it's just that some people's "messes" are not as easy to spot as a messy house.
I'm not saying you should run out and declare yourself to everyone you know! I just wouldn't waste mental energy worrying about what's "normal." Normal only exists in our minds. It's what we think "everyone else" is. LOL
Lol! Transparency is so difficult in our culture. We all know inin our heads that our friends aren’t perfect, but it’s still hardhard to show our imperfections. There’s that fear that we will be rejected. That our friends will become our judges. It keeps us from deep and honest friendships. I’m learning this personally, not judging. With 7 kids I homeschool, my house is never perfect either. Several times lately I’ve been put in a position to offeroffer hospitality to someone when my house is a disaster. Amazingly enough, I was super blessed by the results! Now I don’t feelfeel like I have to hide a real struggle from those who are close enough to encourage me! I didn’t even realize what a burden it had been.