Evangeline...

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    Friday, February 19, 2010

    Is There Room for Me?

    This week I heard, yet again, “Your life would be better if you were more organized.”

    This is undoubtedly true.

    But sometimes I wonder if my disorganization is not merely a bad habit but an actual genetic feature—like my brown eyes and my SUV hips.

    There’s only so much you can do with genetics. Sure there’s exercise and cosmetic surgery, but do people get personality lifts? I suppose they call that counseling. And, yes, I’ve been told I need that too.

    Apparently, I should be spending more time in the self-help section at Barnes and Noble and less time in fantasy.

    But I’m not the only one out there. This guy, for instance, probably knows what it’s like in my loosy goosy noggin.



    I seem to be cursed, ahem, blessed, with lots of very organized friends. They do things like plan meals a month in advance, put their kids to bed at 7 o’clock every night, and scrapbook.

    My life would be better if I did all those things. But just as I don’t have the genes to be a figure skater, nature, it seems, also left out the domestic management skills.

    Is there anyone else out there like me? Do you feel like a failure because you don’t know what you’re having for dinner next Thursday night? Will your sons’ future wives look at you in disgust when you don’t hand over eighteen color-coded, cloth-bound, perfectly-journaled memory books at the rehearsal dinner?

    Am I all alone here?

    Or, is there room for women like me, who—even if they did know what was for dinner a week from yesterday—would decided at 5 pm Thursday evening that beef stroganoff sounds yucky and chicken quesadillas would be much better?

    Maybe you’ve thought about joining a support group for deviant women who don’t find fulfillment in cropping photos. NOT that there’s anything wrong with scrapbooking. Believe me, if I could make my hips smaller and my picture memories neater, I WOULD!

    I guess I’m just looking for some sisterhood here. Can I get an ‘amen?’ Someone in the back, would you raise your hand and confess along with me that your kids were up until 9 last night on a SCHOOL night?

    Or you can just leave me all alone, up in the front, singing “Just As I Am” at the top of my lungs. It’s okay. I’ll lead the revolution. But if you ever want to share your fall from the pantheon of domestic goddesses, shoot on over to my blog and leave an anonymous comment.

    Like,

    “Today I wore two different shoes and didn’t notice until 2 o’clock.”

    Or,

    “For dinner we had leftover mac n’ cheese, a can of fruit cocktail, and half a bag of gummy worms.’

    Or,

    “I forgot my camera and didn’t take one picture at my kindergartner’s play. And instead of staring through a lens, I actually got to watch my son be Carl the Cart-wheeling Carrot.”

    Go ahead, let me hear it!

    9 comments:

    Andrea said...

    Okay...I have a different thought:

    All of my unorganized friends are "super-intelligent." No joking..the messier they are the more intelligent they are....well, I am very organized and have to work hard.

    Guess you were just blessed with super-intelligence and a lack of time for organizing b/c you are too busy using all those brain cells for greater things.

    Hugs, andrea

    Kersley Fitzgerald said...

    I had to vacuum and mop the floor and scour the kitchen cabinets for movie night tonight so I took a nap instead.

    http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4017/4208226834_9ee6095c4b.jpg

    Daphne said...

    Amen!

    I change dinner on the fly constantly. And just cannot bring myself to scrapbook. In fact, I haven't even printed any photos in well over a year. My dishes stay in the sink for days on end. Piles of clean laundry have been known to spend the week on the floor or in the dryer on a regular basis.

    And now I can't stop thinking about how my chair squeaks. Guess my stuff is not going to be getting done today...

    :)

    Mimi N said...

    You...are not...alone!!! whimper, it's not just me, whimper, I'm so thankful!!! I'm not the only one who pops open a can of fruit (not fresh) pulls out a rubbermaid container of yesterday's Mac n Cheese and a bag of chips (no gummy worms today) for a tasty "meal"!

    Somehow, I missed out on the genetic gene and have been searching for it all my life. My mom used to tell me that I needed to marry a rich man so I could have a maid. Why didn't I listen?

    Does not being organized mean that you're messy? I'm not a complete slob, but I have my..."piles". Not every dish is done, but hey there are clean ones in the dishwasher and my kids can reach them! I have clean laundy on 1/2 of my bed and the kids know exactly where to find their next pair of clean undies!

    I've also head that we've become to clean in our society with all our antibiotics and antibacterial cleaners. My kids have known for years that I've kept them healthy with the dust in our home! One day, people will see how we live and realize WE are the standard.

    Have I convinced myself or anyone else? Just checkin'.

    ~Mimi @ Woven by Words

    Deb said...

    No kids here, but I am disorganized. I had supper last night at nine o'clock. I'm a big fan of saying, 'life happens'.

    Great post tho. You made me smile today. :)

    Deb

    Jessica Nelson said...

    Oh no, am I going to be the boring organized commenter? LOL
    I put my kids to bed at seven because by that time I'm exhausted and ready for quiet.
    I'll admit to hating cooking though. I don't usually decide what we're having until about an hour or so before dinner. And I've never been a good scrapbooker.
    My sister is really, really disorganzied but she's an amazing scrapbooker. :-)

    Messiness might be genetic though. It sounds good to me. LOL

    Kimberley said...

    okay Evangeline - you know me. :)And even though I can't join your revolution, you HAVE succeeded in making me laugh (as always) and I love coming over here to read your blog. And I love you - because you are amazing :)

    In my own defense of what my husband lovingly calls my "anal" organization skills, I have to say that I'm behind in my scrapbooking. (WAY behind - LOL)But my husband and kids love being able to show other people photos of cool things in our lives so I keep at it - even under our writing deadlines. (You probably think that's crazy.)

    And I have been known to change dinner at the last minute... (shocking, I know)

    And my desk is often scattered...

    And there's so many other things that seem chaotic in my life... but it's fun :)

    Always an adventure...
    There's ALWAYS room for you.
    Love you, friend!

    Jenny B. Jones said...

    I so relate. I am so unorganized, and it's like I smoke crack in public or something--the stigma of it all (in my head anyway). I always feel such a pressure from all the organized people (nearly everyone on the planet) who are the normals. Like how do you just KNOW that thing belongs in THAT drawer in your kitchen? Why?

    I agree--hereditary. I blame mom. Oh, and I have bought a bunch of books on the topic at Barnes and Noble, but I either lose them, forget I have them, or my ADD only lets me read 5 chapters before I'm forever done. Plus I never understand it anyway.

    Kay Day said...

    I'm having a house-cleaning party on Monday and you can come and see just how much of a soul sister I am!
    And I can't blame it all on my chronic fatigue and back trouble, though I try.
    When I was healthy I was no better.

    I once took a bunch of beautiful pictures of hawks on my son's field trip. They were fabulous, I just know it. Trouble was, there was no film in the camera.

    I frequently feed my kids popcorn for a meal. Or I let them rummage around and find what they can. I'm teaching them survival skills that way.

    You get a bushel full of amen's from me!

    And I do feel like an absolute failure about it all. I'm not sure how to shake that.