I’m off balance in more ways than one. First of all, I still feel the boat moving, and I got off more than two days ago. I’m ready for this equilibrium problem, or whatever it is, to stop.

Secondly, and mainly, things are off-balance because they are out of routine. It’s a holiday week, and my kids and husband are home for the entire week. Nothing makes me happier than having my entire brood at home with me. Togetherness is what I thrive on.

Buuuutttt . . .

It also means that whatever routine I have developed flies right out the window. Breakfasts are leisurely and I can completely rationalize putting off the emptying of the dishwasher. I don’t get up earlier than my family, and since no one wears dress socks or uniforms, they’re fine with whatever laundry is already washed.

Monday I had just arrived home from the cruise, and I felt completely justified to not start back into the daily tasks. Tuesday was full of decorating the house for Christmas, so it’s not like I didn’t do anything, right?

The good thing? We did so much better yesterday about putting away the decoration boxes. Most years, they blend in with the clutter to the point that we sometimes don’t get them put away until we have a party. But yesterday, they stuck out like a sore thumb and we were so much more motivated to get them back into the attic.

The bad thing? If I don’t keep up with the daily tasks, I’ll break whatever habits I’ve started to develop. The house will slip back into chaos and December will be much more stressful than it needs to be.

When I started writing this post, I had every intention of rationalizing and explaining why I wasn’t doing my daily tasks. But I’m going to get up and go do at least some of them. I’m getting up . . . right . . . now. Okay . . . NOW.

Whew.

I’m glad I did that. I checked bathrooms for clutter, and found plenty. I started a load of laundry. I emptied the dishwasher, and cleaned the kitchen. I swept the kitchen. I got totally distracted with the cutest little project and made a wreath of plastic ball ornaments with the kids. I threw away the water bottle my husband had just washed out and was counting on using. Oops. I did a quick pick-up throughout the house as I moved around doing the other things.

Is the house perfect? No.

Is it better? Way.

And all of this took about 30 minutes, probably less since I’m not sure how long we spent on the wreath-making.

I don’t know if I should call this the daily checklist or not, but I tried to do a lot of my daily tasks just now. Things are not going to be routined this week. I want to enjoy my family, but I also want us to enjoy our home. So getting at least some things done will help.