Just yesterday my kid’s daycare provider told me how she described the condition of her home to a prospective client….
“My home is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy.” (original author unknown .)
I love this idea because I think it says that things do not have to be perfect…and that there are certain benefits (happiness) of NOT being perfect. This quote is of particular importance because it appears that Moms always want to compare our productivity to a standard of perfection.
Of course there will always be extremes…both healthy and unhealthy. However, if we can relate this quote to our lives, as Moms, maybe it can simply mean that we are ‘clean’ enough to keep everyone on track, on target, healthy, and have everyone’s basic needs met…yet, we are ‘dirty’ enough or…imperfect enough, to pick our battles and not stress out about every little thing.
Maybe it could mean, as women, we are ‘clean’ enough to live a good, productive, respectable life, but ‘dirty’ enough to also know when we can let loose, let things go, let our hair down and have fun.
What does being ‘clean’ enough to be healthy mean? What does ‘dirty’ enough to be happy mean to you?
How do you strike the balance of being both ‘clean’ and ‘dirty’ in your life? (Let’s keep it PG-13, LOL!! )
Ha! I love this. As a mom it is hard to balance everything I need to do and I’m often hard on myself for not keeping things as clean as I “should.”
You are right – clean enough to be healthy is important, but when you are running around living life, giving yourself permission to be a bit messy is a good thing!
Thanks for the great post~
Thanks for reminding us that we DON’T have to be perfect!! I’m happy if all the toys are off the floor by evening. I can’t tell you the last time I mopped or dusted. My kids have clean clothes, sometimes they get folded. They get fed, sometimes dinner is just pbj. Hey! My kids are laughing and smiling and still like to hug me so I must be doing okay!