Processes and the Perfectionist

Today has taught me something about myself. Of course I already knew I was a perfectionist. Any psychologist could tell me that without spending any time with me--I am, after all, an only child! So what did I learn today? I hate processes! When I want something, I want to just disappear until the project is completed (perfectly, of course!). This morning at 8:30, our yard looked pristine…OK, well, if you know us, you know pristine is not entirely accurate, but anyway…

By 9:15, it looked like, well, I didn’t snap a picture of the initial mess (I was up to my elbows in waffle batter, 2 babies, and 5 kids; I was babysitting). As of this evening, things do look a bit better…and very different: For all the mess there was, it is actually pretty clean. We have a great contractor for this pool—very conscientious—one I wish did other things besides just pools, so we could use him for other projects as well. Anyway, the pool process is quicker than I anticipated; however, the whole process thing does bother me.

Mark got to leave today. And he wanted to stick around for the process. Of course I do get the unwanted privilege of sticking around to endure the process. But I've got my four, including the Princess. And she is SUCH a princess. She discovered some high heeled dress-up shoes and was absolutely so proud of herself for putting these things on. She pranced around in them a bit, and Alex made a big deal of it. When she saw this reaction, she pointed upstairs where the boys were and indicated through her grunts and gestures that she wanted them to come down and make a big deal over her as well!

As far as the other kids go…school? Isn’t that what’s supposed to be going on right now? Well, there actually hasn’t been a whole lot of that going on around here, but I’ve got the plans laid out to get back on it tomorrow. I’m hoping VBS can count as school or we’ll be well into June before we can break for the summer and begin enjoying the pool fulltime! VBS really is very academic…Bible, music, recess, crafts; it’s better school than you’ll get at the P- Academy for Homeschool (PAHS). Ahhhh, but I do have so many academic aspirations for next year! Hopefully, I’ll have enough sense to work toward those goals. As for today, we’ll chalk it up to Tools and Technology since the kids got to watch the tractors dig the big hole in my backyard.