Monday, April 12, 2010

Day One-April 11th

We arrived home last Wednesday, on April 7th. Coming home was a little more overwhelming then I thought it would be.  Actually, it was quite shocking to go from living clutter free for three months to returning to a clutter filled home.  I knew I had a problem with clutter, but I guess I didn't realize just how bad it was until the moment I walked into my own home last Wednesday night.  My plan was to bring all the bags upstairs so they wouldn't "crowd" downstairs while I tried to unpack. Choosing to go upstairs first, was a huge mistake. I had left it in a complete disaster zone. As I had to step over toys and clothes just to get into my bedroom with the suitcases, tears began to flow.  Oh, how I had forgotten what a mess it was.  So after the initial shock, I headed downstairs.  Now downstairs was not "as bad".  The girl that was staying her had tried to clean around the clutter, but there is only so much a person can do.  She was feeling very bad that she hadn't done more to clean, so I turned the turns off quickly.  On top of the normal clutter downstairs, was 3 months of junk mail piled across my table that needed sorting.  So at that point, my plan was to do baby steps.  I set my timer for 15 minutes as Flylady recommends and hit the table with the zeal of a shredder!  I had it all in bags only two minutes after timer went off.  Okay, okay....I know I am supposed to stop when timer goes off, but I was so close :) . 

The next few days were basically been a blur of unpacking and seeing friends that we have missed over these last few months.  My official start date to my flylady blog was Sunday, April 11th.  This was a good day to start, as Sunday's are the official flylady "renew your spirit day".  The girls and I went to church and it was just wonderful.  What a joy it was to see all of my brothers and sisters in Christ again.  My only official mission for day one of the babystepping  flylady routine was to shine my sink.  I will define this in a little more detail when I have more time.  So before I went into slumber sleepy land last night.  My sink was SHINED.  I would take pictures, but my camera is still packed....  Ta ta for now, see you on Day 2: have to check what I am supposed to do today (I forgot)! 

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Why am I going to blog about Fluttering with the FlyLady???

Over the last several months, my life has changed dramatically.  My husband has deployed overseas for 13 months and I was diagnosed with cancer.   Although I had believed that the deployment would dramatically shape my life, cancer has instead taken the lead in the "life-changing category". 

I have been blessed with friends that have allowed my children and I to live with them in Arizona for the past three months during my post-treatment phase.  We are from New England, where the snow and cold would not have made my recovery very pleasant.  In these last three months, although I have had the responsiblity of caring for my children, I have also had a hiatis from all other duties.  The hiatis has allowed me to make my "bucket list" , so to speak.  I have been able to explore the areas of my life that I really would like to make some significant changes.  As my time here in Arizona draws to a close, I am pressured by the nagging thoughts that it is time to make those changes.  In an effort to make some real concrete changes, I have chosen to start two blogs.  This blog,  "Fluttering with the Flylady" and "Living Leonardo...sort of" are my initial attempts at making changes.   I pray that I will continue these blogs on a regular basis.  I pray that once the CHAOS in my life takes over again, I will remain true to the things I have learned about myself from my battle with cancer.   I probably will not share these blogs with my friends and family until I have some level of consisitency under my belt. Even as I type this post, finding the spell checker on the page would also be a good start before I share this with anyone! 

I have been fluttering with the Flylady for almost two years.  However in my typical fashion, I jump around from task to task, I forget to do things on certain days and I forget the most important Flylady rule of babysteps.  I woke up this morning feeling a little bit overwhelmed at the realization that I will be returning to my CHAOS (Can't have anyone over syndrome) in 4 days.  I haven't had to deal with my clutter for the last three months.  However, now I have to return to it.  The inner brat in me is screaming "NOOOOO, I don't wanna go"!  The person who got in touch with her sense of self during a battle with cancer is saying, "Yes, it is time to make some changes".  So even though I know most of the Flylady jargon and steps, I am going to start from sratch.  I will start with the very first babystep, and take it day by day, one day at a time for the next year.  My plan is to use this blog to help me (and maybe you too) with learning how to FLY (as the Flylady refers to Finally Loving Yourself).   I can't officially start my 365 day journey until I return to my home, thus my official start date will be Sunday, April 11th.  This is an ironic date as well, since it is my mother's birthday.  My mother does not need the Flylady! I did not inherit my mother's organized ways, thus the FlyLady.  Here's to Flying...or fluttering in my case!  I will see you when I get back to New England and start my journey on April 11th!