Carpet Cleaning and My Control Issues

I have a natural tendency to be controlling. I know I do. I inherited it from my mother and my grandmother (love you guys!). I try to keep it in check, to keep it at a nice balance of getting things done correctly, accepting life’s imperfections, and not hovering over every move my family makes. Sometimes I fail at this balance.

Have you read Shel Silverstein’s Messy Room poem, or enjoyed Alexander and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (must see the movie just out!)? These are perfect pictures of life without control. In my mind, if I ceased all forms of controlling behavior… my house would be a complete disaster, there would be no groceries, we wouldn’t know what was for dinner until 20 minutes prior to sitting at the table, there’d be no clean towels, underwear, or dishes, the completion of homework would be questionable, bills may or may not be paid, and I’d be an emotional wreck. Complete and utter chaos! This may be an exaggeration, but I don’t think it is!

The extent of this problem, if you will, has become apparent this weekend. We are having our carpets cleaned by North County Carpet Cleaning (Jeff is AWESOME). No big deal, right? Well, I am leaving town tonight. Jeff is coming tomorrow morning. I moved everything I could last night, but it is up to Jesse and the kids to get everything else out of the way, and vacuum. No big deal, right? Well… it feels like a big deal!

I am freaking out a little. Will they forget, or get distracted by the latest and greatest series on Netflix? Will they half-ass it? Will Jeff get there to find pillows, yoga balls, blankets, shoes, and Lord-knows-what else laying around? Will Jesse vacuum well? My office insures North County Carpet Cleaning and I would prefer my house to be in order when Jeff shows up… when I am gone, sometimes the house I return to is not the house I left. Eek.

I have problems. I AM a control freak!!! And maybe a worry wart!

Michelle Pfeiffer said it best in one of my favorite movies, “One Fine Day”. She said, “I’ve got all these little balls up in the air. And if somebody else caught one for me, I’d drop them all.” George Clooney followed up, “But you’re not a control freak?”. Ha…

I do need to let someone grab a ball from the cluster that I juggle every once in a while. And not expect perfection. And not stress about the results. And just be OK. I just need to BREATHE. I have an amazing and capable husband, phenomenal kids, and a God that doesn’t intend for me to hold the weight of the world all by myself!

This weekend, Jesse and the kids are grabbing a ball, and allowing me to spend the weekend at the beach with friends. What a lucky girl I am. Now, to just relax and not worry about the carpet.