MM : Mellow Monday

 

I love being up in the morning before my four boys.  It’s my quiet time, my exercise time, my sit-on-the-couch and savor-the-silence time.

Today I was thinking about what I needed to get done.

Monday is maintenance day at my house: catch up on laundry and dishwashing, straighten up the bedrooms and the living room.  The weekend always seems to end with toys strewn all over the living room, dirty clothes piled anywhere {and everywhere}, and books – the books – covering every flat surface.  Floor, couch, beds, chairs, kitchen table, washer and dryer, bathroom counter.

Usually on Mondays, I turn into an evil kind of Mary Poppins.  You remember her magic tape measure, right?  Well, mine only says things like, “You’re not working fast enough!”  Or maybe, “Pick it up right now or it’s mine!”

This morning, the word that came to mind was mellow.

Can Mondays be mellow?

mel·low

made gentle and compassionate by age or maturity; softened.

{sigh}

Wouldn’t it be nice if they could?

I thought it was worth a try, anyway.

So instead of focusing on the 25 things that have needed to be done for quite a while, I decided on the 6 that truly needed to be done today.

1. Tidy the living room and bedrooms.
2. Get laundry washed and dried.  
3. Catch up on dish-washing.
4. Dust and vacuum the living room.
5. Break out the schoolbooks this afternoon.
6. Enjoy being with my kids, instead of being their slave-driver.

And so far today, Monday has been mellow.

The kids have fought less with each other.

And with me.

The day has been pretty productive, compared to a Manic Monday.

The house is much neater than it was when I woke up.

Dishes are done.  For now.

The rest of the chores will get done after supper.  {I’m writing a blog post right now, thank you very much!}

Fifty percent of the kids are done with school.  The other half are still searching for paper and pencils.

But that’s okay…

This is Monday “made gentle and compassionate … softened.”

 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him,

so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

 

Linking up with Carissa at lowercase letters for miscellany monday.