the relativity of a clean house…
October 31, 2007
my house would be clean if:
the single working mother …..if i were married and didn’t have to work so much.
the working married mother …..if my husband would actually pick up his clothes and i didn’t have to work.
the stay-at-home mom …..if i didn’t have to haul kid’s to soccer, dance and spanish oh, and i had a part-time maid
the stay-at-home mom with merry maids ….oh my lord, if i only had a live-in, the house would be perfect and i’d work out all the time.
(this is totally a lie btw, because her house is almost always spotless and she works out but it’s something women just say in social situations)
the stay-at-home with the live in… oh my god, i do NOT know what we would do with out Rosa!
then there are all the people in between who are wired for keeping a clean house and orderly life no matter what the circumstances, come hell or high water. i’ve been thinking a lot about this lately, not a clean house but how people live their lives. how i live my own.
do you ever have times when all the really important things line up in front of you like a big billboard reminding you that the things you think matter never make it to the board? all that matters is staring you right back in the face. you realize you have been giving too much of your heart and precious self to parts that sometimes torture and weigh us down.
the kindness girl in me reminds myself of course, that those actions are somehow valuable and brought us to this place of discovering our true loves and for that i am grateful…..
so today, my friends, all that matters is:
halloween cinnamon rolls and little boys that are dying to be ninja’s tonight…(much to my own personal horror, it’s a lesson in tolerance)
sending pictures to a papa far away who ranks halloween in his top 3 holidays due to candy goodwill…
that money can not buy happiness…
my friend and partner is deeply missed…
kind friends, fellow mothers/sisters make the village very alive today…
that peace and kindness are still so needed in our everyday lives and world…
may the halloween happiness visit you today and bring heaps of joy….
Kindnessgirl 
October 31, 2007 at 1:56 pm
Okay. So today was the day that I was going to get caught up on cleaning and doing laundry. But now? I am going to have a picnic with R and just enjoy the beautiful weather and the fun, fun Halloween! Clean clothes are so over-rated …
October 31, 2007 at 4:46 pm
i got my yearly evaluation at work today and my boss was saying that he’d like to “develop” me, that i have “potential”, but that i needed to determine if professional growth, given my (m)other priorities, is something i want to commit to. he emphasized, of course, that there’s “nothing wrong” with passing up those opportunities and just doing my job and collecting a paycheck. afterall, i’m a mother. for the first time in my life, i couldn’t fake my enthusiasm for professional advancement (i have historically portrayed myself as a “go-getter” in the workplace, saying yes to opportunities, saying yes, yes, yes, okay, oh, you believe in my potential? you want to help me climb the ladder? you think i have what it takes? okay, sign me up! i never asked myself if it was something i truly wanted–i figured if someone else thought i should do something, they were probably right.) but this time, i was a deer-in-headlights. i’m getting to the point–this really does have to do w/ your post–bear with me! and i realized, sitting in his office on the other side of his desk, under fluorescent lights, that i had been struck dumb. unwittingly. my body would not let me commit to something that, for me, just isn’t important. so i took a moment, and looked out the window. and i noticed the beautiful day. and i thought about my dear, sweet boy at his daycare center, and wondered if he would even go outside today, if anyone there ever helps the babies notice the day. and i wanted with all my heart to be outside wtih my boy, soaking up the autumn gloriousness, showing him how to notice. and i told my boss that i just couldn’t commit right now. and i made a commitment to myself to find a way, no matter what, to build a life that will allow me to do more and more of what really matters.
October 31, 2007 at 7:45 pm
damn kell! wow…may so much light and love help you find your way and give you strength. you are so amazing, i’m so speechless.
btw, you HAVE to blog- the world needs to read your thoughts and ideas…
love,
pache
November 2, 2007 at 12:36 am
you are too sweet! i know, i know–you have most definitely inspired me. i have entertained fantasies of blogging recently. and i just may do it. may. wink.
love,
k.
p.s. in the background, i just heard jay say, “oh, ok, buddy. you wanna watch daddy go pee-pee?” aw. bonding.