A new leaf.

I have been extra-super grumpy lately. I have also felt extra-super unappreciated by my family. It has dawned on me that for the past 11 years, I have done 95% of all house-related chores. Now, don't get me wrong, I love being an "at-home" mom, but sometimes being an "at-home" mom can be as rewarding as a professional sand castle builder. They build beautiful masterpieces, only to have the tide wash them away. That is how I feel when I mop the floor and then the dogs track in mud, or when I do all the laundry, only to have the hampers full in two days, or when I stock the pantry, only to have no food by the end of the week. The endless cycle.

Yesterday, I went up to Brock's room to collect his dirty laundry. I don't know what made me check, but I pulled back his big over-stuffed chair from the corner. Viola! I found all of the dirty socks that had been missing, crumpled up papers, broken bits of toys, wrappers, etc. This had become his dumping ground. Apparently, when I asked him to clean up his room, this was the quick and easy way to clean it. My temper began to boil. I grabbed all of the dirty socks, started a load of wash and then did my all-time favorite chore of cleaning the bathroom. As you may recall from awhile back I wrote about the disgusting doings with the toilet brush (see earlier post on June 1st). The offender hadn't offended lately, so I nonchalantly grabbed the toilet brush. Imagine my disgust to have a wet clump of toilet paper fly off the brush and strike my foot. Gross! Obviously the offender had returned. Where before I was angry, now I was down-right livid.

I marched up to the shower (to of course scrub my feet) and began to compose a letter to my family in my head. I started out mean and accusing but then realized that probably wasn't the way to handle the situation. Once my temper lessened, I typed a letter to my family asking them for help and to support me while I venture out to try different interests besides toilet cleaning. With that, I left the letter on the counter and attended a Writer's Workshop.

At the workshop I felt energized and engaged. In the back of my mind though I kept thinking about how my family was handling the letter I had left.

When I returned home, this is what I found:

(click on the pictures to see a bigger image)

Yes, I realize Brock needs a refresher course on capitalization and punctuation, but their messages were sweet and from the heart. They made my heart soar.