Saying Yes

I am feeling a little melancholy this morning, let me start with that forewarning. I have another respiratory tract infection, and while this one overall hasn't been as bad as previous illnesses of this school year, I have been having trouble sleeping and been coughing myself awake in the wee hours of the morning. Boo. If you know nothing else about me, know this: I love to sleep, I need more sleep than the average bear, and I'm not much good at anything or nice to be around if I don't get my sleep!

So here I am in the dining room/office, trying to keep myself occupied and do something *useful* without waking up my boys. I read a blog post several months ago (for shame - I can't remember where!) about habits (maybe secrets?) of effective mothers (or housewives? or women?). Anyhow, there was one tip there that really stuck with me, even if the exact wording didn't: To be effective, one must say yes where others say no.

I can't tell you how this has helped with my tidying routines around our home. As I pass small messes, perhaps a piece of dirty clothing that needs to go in a hamper, a piece of trash that is ready for the can, a dirty dish, etc., my knee-jerk, reactive thought used to be something along the lines of, "Okay, seriously, I know that the husband and Monkey Boy have seen this and didn't pick it up. Really? Do I have to pick up after them like a maid? Unbelievable....aargh!" I was so busy being irritated by the fact that one of the other members of the household were aware of this mess and didn't care enough to deal with it that I didn't stop to consider how quick and easy and rewarding it would be for me to just pick it up myself.

Now, I'm not saying that I pick up after my boys without fail or protest. However, when encountered by these situations lately, instead of getting irritated, I stop and think. Let me say yes to dealing with this mess when others have said no. Let me pick this up and put it in its proper place for my own benefit and sanity. Let me appreciate that God has blessed me with a beautiful family who makes messes, because they are my joy and my heart. Let me be effective in dealing with the little messes so they don't turn into huge, all-day cleaning type messes. Let me say yes where others say no.