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| A quick selfie during a much needed hike with the kids |
"The great thing in this world, is not so much where we are, but in which direction we are moving." ~Oliver Wendell Holmes
Lately, lunch and dinner meals with the kids have been a wonderful time of learning, sharing, discussing, and sometimes even wild impromptu songwriting. For so long, I've wanted to take time to teach a "class" to the kids. An elective class. A fun class. An exciting yet deeply useful class. A class that teaches the values that I want to instill in them. But for whatever reason, I haven't been able to find the time or make it happen. However, a wonderful thing takes place once you start to organize small aspects of your life: more time. More time for the things that really matter.
For about a month now, I've been relentless at cleaning, tidying, organizing almost every nook and cranny of my home in a very systematic way. (the FLY lady method). There are a few things that have begun to happen as a result of this intense focus on cleaning and organizing my physical space.
Intentional Connected Time with Kids
This comes in the form of afternoon Emotional Intelligence EQ lessons at the lunch table, soccer playing on the grassy outdoor field with Benjo, one-on-one Spanish lessons with Norah, engaged listening to creative storytelling with Shiloh. I am not rushed, the house is tidy, I have a schedule for the day, I've made room for the unexpected. Oh, I am not cleaning alone by the way. The kids help me and even in that, we can have extended praise/dance sessions while cleaning together because I know once the house is clean they can have free time to do as they please.
Clarity of Goals
I am more clear on my goals. The physical space that is so tidy and clear is definitely a representation of the mental space that is becoming more clear by the day. I don't let those moments pass either. I have a planner where I can write ideas down as they come. Just like everything in the house is finding a home, it's like the rapid and random thoughts that come to my mind have a home as well. I can place it in a journal, on the calendar, or a mental file in my brain. It's all getting cleaned up. A song lyric playing attaches to goal I once had.
Time to Accomplish Personal Goals
With all the mental clarity, then comes the time to actually accomplish the goals. There's not a ton to clean in the house at night. So when I sit down to think, I can think without the worry of a dirty kitchen. The tidyiness has freed up time to work on my goals. I admit that for a quick moment, I fell into the trap of being so obsessive with cleaning that it became the overreaching goal. But I see it as a means to an end, so that I can spend time doing the things that I really enjoy doing. Writing, reading, hosting, chatting, gardening, exercising, etc.Habits that Stick
And speaking of goals, establishing good habits is usually at the top of my list of goals.The cool thing about staying on a grind for a month or so, is that those habits begin to stick. There have been countless nights in the past month or so where my husband walks in the kitchen and says, "don't worry about all those dishes" At first, I was like, "yea, you're right" But after doing it day in and day out, it feels very off to not have a perfectly good kitchen clean at the end of the evening. Of course things can't always be perfect, but it really has become a habit. and the thing about habits is that when done consistently, it takes little thinking, cajoling, or forcing. It just happens. The idea is not to do this for a set time, but for this all to become a lifestyle and a true transformation of character.