I see it there in the corner. It appears to mock me, almost as if it is laughing. I want to attack it, to erase its very existence. Yet, they say not to. That time is too fleeting, and that these moments are too precious. So I continue to sit and read with my children. My mind is only half engaged in what they are saying. The other half keeps drifting back to the figure in the corner, the inevitable dust bunny.
My mind begins to race. What if I forget about it? What if it multiplies? The whole house could be full any second! Then I stop myself. No, these moments with my children are too precious. Must focus. I can’t. The story ends, and honestly, I can’t tell you what it was about. The mess in the corner demanded my attention.
Okay…..So maybe that’s extreme, but there are 1,000s of poems, posts, and stories telling me to just ignore those bunnies in the corner. That childhood is precious and fleeting, and I totally agree with that statement. My girls are growing faster than I would like. However, is just ignoring the dust bunnies really wise advice?
The truth, at least for me, is that those dust bunnies rob me of my sanity if I continue to ignore them.
I am not sure who started the “let everything else go and spend time with your children” movement, but I am thinking they did not think it through in its entirety. I mean, what is the end result? Will the dust bunnies somehow disappear? Is there some magical fairy that cleans them up when I’m not looking? If so, why has she not shown up at my house? Where do I sign up for that service?
See here’s the problem. I am a homeschool mama, and my kids are here 24/7. If I continued to “ignore” the bunnies they would inevitably multiply. Eventually, we would have to move out so they could take up permanent residence. Maybe you are a stay at home mom with a toddler, then I am guessing the same concept applies to you. Why should we feel guilty for tackling our daily chores? Now I will admit that there are times when I should work a little less and play a little more, but these can’t be the norm. For starters, what kind of message does that send to our children? Is it okay to put off work for more play?
I find that it doesn’t take long in a day to tackle those dust bunnies, especially if they are well contained in the first place. So I get up and clean for an hour. Then we can enjoy the day. I can sit down and read a story with them. If my eyes drift ever so slightly to the corner guess what, it’s okay. The dust bunny is gone. I breathe a sigh of relief and return to our story. The dust bunny forgotten. My sanity is restored. Please don’t think I’m a tyrant who worries more about her house than her children. That’s not the case at all. The moral of my story is don’t feel guilty for what has to be done. Life is sometimes work, and that’s okay.
(Do you need help tackling the dust bunnies in your home? See my post on Designing A Cleaning Schedule)
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