Tripping Over Typeset

Here we are back at one of my favorite days—FRIDAY!  We are joining up with Kate Motaung and the gang over at Five Minute Friday.  This is where we all write on a one word prompt for 5 minutes.  No over-editing, no over-thinking, just free-writing.  If you would like to join us, click here.

Our word prompt this week:  CARE

GO: 

Last night, I cleaned my kitchen sink.  I FlyLady cleaned it!

I was finishing up the last of the dishes when I noticed grime and gunk all over the back of my sink.  Black yuck in the crevices and hard water spots on the stainless steel finish.

After Emily finished drying and putting away the dishes. I brought out the old toothbrush along with the Comet powder and began scrubbing away at the gunk!

Satisfaction was coming easy. I scoured up and down the backsplash, moved onto the counter.  Then I noticed my canisters!  Yuck!  How did they get so filthy?  And the knife wood block —- disgusting!

I was beginning to think I was going to be smacked by some FlyLady swatter for all this dirt and grim in my seemingly clean kitchen.

I went back to the sink and finished up with all the steps…including spraying down the sink with Windex and wiping dry any water spots!

Spotless, shiny…and almost blinding!  (How long is this going to last in a family of 5?)

Thinking I was done for the night, I left the kitchen.

Then I remembered the coffee for the morning.

I returned to the kitchen.  Turned on the faucet to fill the coffee pot and realized I now have more water spots on the kitchen sink surface.  So I retrieved the towel and dried the water spots again —  I can’t have dried water spots in my kitchen sink!

I left the kitchen again and actually made it to the couch before realizing I had left out the lasagna to cool on the kitchen table.  It needed to be covered and put away, along with cleaning the spatula and knife covered in lasagna scraps.

Again…I dirtied the sink!  How is a woman suppose to keep her sink clean, shiny, and blindingly sparkly?

And that’s when it hit me. I’ve changed!

Years ago, I did the whole FlyLady clean sink thing…for about a week!

But this is what I’ve come to know:  I care more for the sanity of those who live with me, along with my own sanity, more then I care whether I have rings of dried water spots left on my stainless steel sink.

I can drive my family crazy with knit-picky details about how I want things done and miss the whole idea of caring for them.

I want instilled in their hearts —  people before things.  I care more that they love Jesus,  their siblings, and others more than helping me keep my kitchen sink spotless.

And now, as I look across my kitchen table to my shiny, sparkly sink, I ask myself, “How long will it last?

Answer:  About as long as it takes for the first lovely human being in my home to descend the stairs and turn on the faucet.  And I’m okay with that!

Caring about details moves from things to people.  That’s what I care about and that’s who I love.

STOP 

DISCLAIMER:  This is NOT a bash on FlyLady.  I believe she does a great job of getting people organized and proficient in their household habits.  I believe she would even agree, she’s not after perfection but progress! 🙂  Happy Friday, everyone!