I really struggle with my "job" at home. It is hard to see the forest for the trees here. I suppose it is true of many stay-at-home moms of many. Every five seconds there is a child needing a drink or a piece of fruit or to play with play dough or a reprimand or a hug. Three times a day there is a pile of dirty dishes that, if neglected, will still be there the next time around, but doubled. And the time after that, tripled. If you leave them until morning, you are greeted with tall towers of plastic IKEA cups, teetering stacks of multicolored plates, tangles of crusty cutlery, and NO COFFEE MUGS TO BE FOUND, ANYWHERE. And that is a recipe for a bad start to the day, let me tell you. Add in avalanching mountains of dirty laundry that threaten to block access to that most important room (the toilet) and you are in trouble. And it only took one day.

I have read blogs about housekeeping. I have read books and magazine articles. I have listened to self-help tapes and talked to my counselor. :P They all seem to assume that I have some inner desire (or ability) to follow routines. I do not. I think that certain people in my family of origin hogged all the routine-loving genes! I feel genuinely and severely routine-disabled, yet I know that in a family with six fun-loving and energetic young children, a routine is as necessary to smooth daily functioning as fiber (ahem). What about me then?!

And here is the part of this little essay where I should have some solutions, a way to resolve the tension I just built up in the previous two paragraphs, but I don't. No sir. All I can do is get up and keep trying...fall down and keep praying...get up and keep trying...fall down and keep praying. What I'm really doing here is fighting a battle against myself; my wants, my attitudes, my sins. I have work that's been placed in front of me, and it is good work. At some point in my life I desired it more than anything else. I think that was some point before reality set in. Haha.

So, moms of many (or moms of any, for that matter), how do you do this work cheerfully, day in and day out? What are your solutions to my horrid problem of being routine-resistant? How do you cultivate self-discipline to do the work that has been given to you? How do you remember to take a step back and look at the big picture?