I Have Mold In My Shower and Other Confessions
I like to quote the Wizard in the “The Wizard of Oz” when he says, “Don’t look behind the curtain”. For me that means I usually appear to have it together, but it’s typically held together with scotch tape and dental floss.
I was reminded of my wizard mantra yesterday when my friend and I agreed we were ‘going to pull it together’. You know, the day where you vow to catch up on everything. Why do we set such lofty goals?! So I went for it. I am 90% caught up on work, filled out my daughter’s preschool paperwork (that was due weeks ago), worked on a birthday present for a friend, blah, blah, blah.
I am really proud of myself. I started congratulating myself on being amazing until I looked behind my curtain…
- I picked up my house and cleaned my stove, but there is mold in the shower
- I fed my kids dinner BEFORE soccer practice, but it was a microwave meal
- I arranged to take a family with a new baby dinner tomorrow, but I went store-bought instead of homemade
- I did the grocery shopping, by putting a fake meeting on my work calendar
- I had to put my friend’s son’s first day of school in my calendar so I wouldn’t forget to ask how it went on the correct day
- I took my FIRST shower for the “day” at 10:00 pm
I also have a few standing tricks I pull to appear more together than I am:
- I use dry shampoo so I don’t have to wash and style my hair as often
- I have big drawers behind cabinet doors where I store all the kids toys at night
- I keep a stash of cards, presents and wrapping paper so I don’t show up without a gift (because I am not organized enough to mail birthday cards)
- I have dimmer switches on my lights so you can’t see the dust if you come to my house for dinner
Now, I could easily say that I work smarter, not harder (with the exception of the mold in the shower) but the point is, we all do the best we can. We can usually make things livable, but rarely perfect. I did not write this list to put myself down, but rather to keep a firm grip on reality. I can only do what I can do and it is what it is. (Yes, I am going for a cliché record). If my shower was mold free (it will be Thursday) and the meals were homemade, I would be even more off-balance than I already am.
Therefore, I am celebrating the chaos behind the curtain! Please join me in this celebration and share your tricks for keeping it together or giving the appearance that you have it together.
Don't Look Behind The Curtain
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Pay It Forward
Slightly Off-Balance 
I don’t think we even claim that we have it all together and we certainly don’t make the attempt to appear that way! ;D
In fact, we don’t have folks over the house much! lol
When my house is super messy, as it usually is, and people suggest that we rendezvous’ at my house for an after school play date I simply say “OH I wish we could but I am having my carpets cleaned” I have axctually had peopl say “WOW you have you carpets cleaned ALOT…your house must be impeccable!!” I just smile.
Love the Mold… Mold is good because it makes Penicillin: drug for treating infections caused by bacteria. a drug used for treating infections and illnesses caused by bacteria
I’m so totally with you. I have friends (mostly stay at home moms) who seem to be able to clean their homes spotless, cook a homemade dinner, spend time with the kids, etc. etc. I do the best that I can which means sometimes there are dust bunnies on my bookshelves. But I always make it a point to spend quality time with my son every day. And for me that more than makes up for the dust lol
Good for you Ronnie! What is your son going to remember more – a sparkling house or quality time with mom? The answer is easy!
Since Dorothy was able to click her heels 3 times and go home, wouldnt it be nice to do that with the mold.
You are juggling tons and doing a phenomenal job! Sometimes I try to keep just the front room picked up and guide folks in there and forget about the rest of the house until I have time/energy. “It is, what it is,” is our favorite expression around this household. I try and remind myself, that this is a living, breathing house full of life and love, along with the broken water pump we had this morning. As my older friend, one of the “Silent Generation,” always advised me, “If your kids were perfect and your house was perfect and your life was perfect, no one would ever want to be around you!”
I love this! This must be why I have so many great friends, I am very far from perfect!
Why can’t Home Depot sell bath tiles and shower curtains in the color of mold? I’d buy it and grout in the same color too.
This is a brilliant idea, mine is that pink mold, my husband will be thrilled with the pink bathroom! 😉
You sound like you have things pretty together to me! Tricks? Fresh flowers always make things look cleaner in my eyes, and Pine-sol poured in the toilets before company comes makes it smell cleaner, too. Other than that, I’ve embraced my mold, and am happy if there is one clean room in the house at a time~
Thank you! I have zero clean rooms at the moment, so I will make one room my goal! 😉
Not sure what is behind the wizard’s curtain but here are some tips to prevent mold in showers:
http://maidinchicago.us/wordpress/?p=1050