Overheard today at Good Enough Manor:

Kia: “YES! You can scrub the toilet! Now stop asking, or I won’t let you do it!”

 

So, there’s that. We’re still cleaning. We’re always cleaning. So why does my house always seem messy and dirty? Oh yeah, the messy kid. And the messier adults. Riiiiigggghhhhtttt. I forget so easily. Oh, and here’s another question: Why in the feckity feckdid we choose off-white carpet for our family room? WHY?!!!

 

Back to the Good Enough stuff. I’m avoiding the task, because I can’t think of any one thing that I’ve done and immediately thought, “Yeah, Kia. YOu’re a good enough mom today.” I’ve promised myself that I’ll do at least one of these posts per week though, so I’ve got to come up with something…

Ah, yes! Here’s one. Now before you get all judgy-judgy on me, read this through, k? K.

I went shopping by myself  today! BY! MYSELF!! I went to Chapters (a bookstore), and Pier 1 Imports and Winners (it’s like TJ Maxx or Marshalls) and Loblaws (think along the lines of Albertsonsor Winn Dixie). And yes, this does indeed make me a good enough mom. Wanna know why? I’ll tell you! It makes me a Good Enough Mama because I realized that I needed to get away from Little Man and this house for a few hours. Not only did I realize it, I acted on it.

Sometimes I like to play the martyr card with Hubby. He’ll wave a Free Pass to Get Out of Good Enough Manor in front of my nose, but I’ll either feel too guilty (because Hubby is very generous this way) and worry that I’m taking advantage of Hubby or I’ll be too grumpy and self-righteous (translation? STUPID), rendering myself unable to accept the offer of an escape.

Not today though, my friends. Not today.

Today, Hubby offered to do some tidying up with Little Man while I went out alone. Today, I jumped, skipped, leapedout the door with barely a breath, never mind a “good bye” and went on my merry way. Now before you go trying to steal Hubby because not only does he realize that I need to escape, he offers to let me escape and also offers to clean while I’m gone. He does have a few faults, you know. Faults that you may not learn about until after you’ve stolen him and taken a vow to do his laundry and make his meals. Trust me, the faults exist.

*Tangent Alert* One fault is that when he “cleans”, it doesn’t actually involve any spraying or wiping or mopping or polishing. I know! See? I told you. Yeah, cleaning, for Hubby, means that he puts a few toys away (’cause Little Man is always underfoot, whining, “Don’t put THAT away! No, not THAT either! I’m using them!”), picks up all the clothes that have been tossed on the floor on his side of our bed and dumps them in the laundry pile, pushes a few things to the sides of the family room, and vacuums. Now don’t get me wrong. Remember, we’re not going down judgy-judgy lane. I’m not complaining, per se….

Just letting you know that Hubby isn’t perfect. *End Tangent*

So when Hubby offered to “clean” today while I went out on my own, I jumped at the chance! To reiterate, this makes me a Good Enough Mama because I took the chance to escape and regroup when it was offered. Too often, I am my own (and thus, Little Man’s) worst enemy.

Wanna know what else makes me so great today? Well, I’m going to tell you anyway! When I came home from my little excursion, I didn’t complain at all much about Hubby’s “cleaning.” I simply looked around, assessed how long it would take me to finish the job, and thanked Hubs for sending me away. Then I sent him off to a movie by himself and got down to business, perhaps letting Little Man earn his keep help a little with the, um, toilet scrubbing. It’s Occupational Therapy, honest! Scrubbing that toilet was “heavy work”, as the OT says. That was one dirty  toilet.

Am I Good Enough? I think so!

 

Kia