Time for me to whine . . .

I’ve been reading a book about simplifying – specifically, there are 52 projects to take on in “bite-size” chunks in order to simplify your life. There are lots of good ideas, many of which I already do: “Clean as you go” (vs. letting crud sit around and dry up in your kitchen, on the tables, etc.). “Get rid of junk mail as it comes in your house – don’t let it pile up.” “Make your kitchen paperless” (i.e. stop using paper towels and napkins). “Have a morning routine.” “Have a night-time routine.”

This leads me to two thoughts:
1. Why the hell haven’t I written a book about how to simplify?! and
2. Books like this always seem to be written by women who are not only published authors and widely-read bloggers, but also have a bunch of kids (this lady has 5), home school their brood, volunteer in the community, take regular vacations, and consult/free-lance all over the place, among many fabulous activities.
HOW DO THEY DO IT?! Are they crystal meth addicts who don’t sleep?! I have just one kid, a fairly streamlined household, and a very helpful, chore-sharing husband – and I still feel like there’s not enough time in the day to do everything else I want (e.g. be more creative, stay in closer touch with friends and family, be a more perceptive, compassionate wife/mom/friend/etc.).

As I think about this, these “helpful” authors seem to represent the anti-Erma Bombeck, one of my favorite authors/columnists. Remember her? If you’ve never read any of her columns or books, I highly recommend you give her a try. She wrote about being a mom/wife/caregiver in a way that is easy to relate to – that is, her house was a mess, her kids drove her nuts, and she barely kept things together.

Ultimately, we (I) just don’t give ourselves (myself) enough credit. It’s easy to feel bad because we unfairly compare ourselves to women who have seemingly perfect lives. But we all know NO ONE’S life is perfect. As I’ve whined my way through this post, I’ve decided to celebrate, instead, all the things I do that bring me happiness and help me keep my life simplified – and to keep working on those things I want to do better (after all, that’s why I’ve taken on this project). And to revisit Erma!