Like Painting a Bridge

Sometimes God just needs to smack me on the head like Gibbs does to DiNozzo on NCIS.  (One of my favorite shows).  God sure did that today.  I have been so stressed with cleaning and trying to keep up around the house that I get overwhelmed by trying to be a mother and a housekeeper.  Today I said "I just want to get the house clean" to my husband.  Well, Matthew was not napping so well (at first) and Martin would get up at any minute and I just wanted to have it all done.  Well, hubby tried to help me and we were both working hard to get some of the junk picked up.  I picked up a book "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff With Your Family" and flipped through it.  Really, I was just deciding what to do with it.  Where to put it, did we really need it.  It was a baby gift and I just needed to find a home for it.

While flipping through it I came to the article "It's Like Painting a Bridge".  I was just a little curious and in need of a distraction so I quickly read the one page article.  Well, thank God, again for the message.  The author talked about how housework and keeping up a home is like painting the Golden Gate Bridge.  They literally paint the bridge everyday.  When they get to the other end, they go back and start at the other side.  It's never done.  Housework and our homes are never done.  Yes, the house can look clean for a while, but laundry always comes and the dishes always get dirty and there is always a closet to clean out.  So even if I wanted to get the whole house clean, I just can't.  I have to come to terms with the fact that the list of projects will never go away.  Just keep doing one thing at time and that's the best I can do.  I would like the house to at least be tidy, but it will never be perfect.  Just like the bridge, I will have to start over the minute I get done anyway and that's okay.  As long as I keep working, something is getting done.