Today is already filled with sunshine & flowers! It's a great day to be in the Pacific Northwest - one of those days we crave during the long, gray winter season (which often stretches will into spring...). The dawn broke into clear, blue skies and the air is a crisp 55 degrees, but promising to reach the upper 70's. Birds are singing, flowers are at their peak performance (though still a little sad from the week of 100's we had) and the beauty of the earth is everywhere I look. Outside, that is. Inside is another story altogether!Tomorrow evening I am hosting a party for Tastefully Simple, a company that sells convenience foods that are really great. 
I love the products they have, and the parties are lots of fun because we get to sample a variety of yummy stuff. However... my house is a wreck! I still haven't taken down my 4th of July decorations, there are dirty dishes in the sink, baby detritus everywhere, the front and back porches are rather disgusting with all the yard debris from the summer strewn evenly around, and just a general mess in the TV room. So, my goal today is to redecorate and clean inside. That will leave the outside for tomorrow, plus another once-over inside with the vacuum.
I love the products they have, and the parties are lots of fun because we get to sample a variety of yummy stuff. However... my house is a wreck! I still haven't taken down my 4th of July decorations, there are dirty dishes in the sink, baby detritus everywhere, the front and back porches are rather disgusting with all the yard debris from the summer strewn evenly around, and just a general mess in the TV room. So, my goal today is to redecorate and clean inside. That will leave the outside for tomorrow, plus another once-over inside with the vacuum. Oh - you may wonder why my "housemates" aren't keeping up with the chores as they agreed when they crashed here over a year ago. I often wonder too. 
It seems obvious that we are just too soft on them. I mean, most people, if their 27-year-old son and his baby and baby-momma were "temporarily" shacking up with them, would lay down some firm ground rules (which we did) and then HOLD THE KIDS TO THEM! This seems to be our downfall. Our only recourse, really, is to ask them (or demand) to leave if they don't keep up with the chores. But this is oh-so-hard! After all, he is our son, and we don't want to see him living in squalor, especially with the baby... our precious granddaughter! Unfortunately, they have no qualms about taking advantage of our generosity. In fact, I don't even think they see it as generosity - I think they feel they are entitled to all we are giving them!
It seems obvious that we are just too soft on them. I mean, most people, if their 27-year-old son and his baby and baby-momma were "temporarily" shacking up with them, would lay down some firm ground rules (which we did) and then HOLD THE KIDS TO THEM! This seems to be our downfall. Our only recourse, really, is to ask them (or demand) to leave if they don't keep up with the chores. But this is oh-so-hard! After all, he is our son, and we don't want to see him living in squalor, especially with the baby... our precious granddaughter! Unfortunately, they have no qualms about taking advantage of our generosity. In fact, I don't even think they see it as generosity - I think they feel they are entitled to all we are giving them! I wish I had the inner strength to give them the boot. I pray for endurance every day, and to ask for more seems greedy. So back to the Sunshine & Flowers! Helen Keller once said "If you keep your face to the sunshine, you cannot see the shadows." And so, today I will face the sunshine and hope it lights the path for me that the Lord wants me to walk.
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