I love this story! Knowing what works is such a relief.
Hi Dana,
We had a cold bug that went through the entire family this week. Kid ended up in the ER. Pregnant Mom had to call hubby home so he could be caregiver while I slept. And then he got sick.
I woke up yesterday feeling just enough energy to do one thing. And my house is a disaster. I had a brief moment of panic then said, “All right. Let’s empty the clean dishes from the dishwasher, load up one load, and start it. If that’s all I get done today, at least it’s something.”
And it helped. Today, I was able to empty the dishwasher and add the rest of the dishes plus anything else we did. My kid has enough energy to be mildly active so I set her to pick up the floor so we can run our robot vacuum.
It was just nice knowing that A) I don’t have to think about what to do anymore when I’m overwhelmed. I just start. Go do the dishes. B) Knowing that sometimes that’s enough. and C) The steps are always there for me and I know I can gain control once I start doing them.
People are healing. Fevers have all gone away and now it’s just congestion draining. We’re pushing fluids and, yes, doing our dishes. Thank you for sharing the system you came up with through so much trial and error for the rest of us with similar brains to benefit from.
If you are wondering what these “steps” are, they’re here all over the blog. I talked about them in a recent podcast, and I teach them in detail in my book, How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind.
Perfect example of how the steps can keep it all going! My children are old enough to help with many of the jobs…so even if I am barely conscious, I can mumble, “Could you please run/empty the dishwasher” or, “Could you please sweep the kitchen floor”, and it will actually be done!
Looking forward to March break to be able to make even more progress!
Lydia