In a follow up to yesterday, I do think that I am too hard on myself at times.  I am doing well on my List, given the whole nearly 7 months pregnant thing.  I suspect that what makes me feel like I’ve accomplished less than reality is that while I am getting some things done, I am doing it in the midst of a home that is really a mess.  There isn’t one room in my home that is clean and tidy, not one room that is really peaceful.  It’s difficult to feel serene and to cultivate an attitude of gratitude while being surrounded by the lack of organization, the dirty dishes, the pile of laundry glaring at me from across the room, the kidlet’s fingerprints across the dusty TV screen, my desk top that is barely visible under the piles of papers, books, kidlet’s toys, and recipes.  It’s hard to recognize that I’ve just spent 2 hours with my child fostering the attitudes in one of my more recent book purchases (The Creative Family), when I look away from the smiling face of my child, away from the pleasant clutter of paper clippings, glue smears, paint splotches around us and see the floor that needs mopping, the counters that need scrubbing, the trash that needs taken out.

I need to spend a little more time on those basics each day, aside from whatever project I am tackling in my Life Improvements.  And hopefully the hubby can help me a little more with those daily basics as well.  For today, I cleaned off my desktop.  Looking past my desk — well, I won’t go there yet, but for this moment I have a small isle of clean.