Procrastinators of the world unite! Meeting to be held either tomorrow or the next day, or maybe this coming weekend.

Ever have something that you really need to get done, and yet you never seem to be able to get around to doing it? Procrastination is a funny thing. It's funny how time can get away from you, and before you know it, months or even years have gone by and you still have not accomplished a specific task. Did you know there is a Procrastinators Club? Their motto is "Productivity is Overrated." There's also a Procrastinators Anonymous, a Procrastinators SOS Planning Guide, and a Procrastinators Clock. This is quite an amusing little item that goes off 15 minutes before the procrastinator actually sets the alarm to go off, and then it moves at a faster speed than a normal clock, in an effort to get the procrastinator out the door and on their way, hopefully on time. I'm thinking this would make a great Christmas gift!!!

A little over a year ago, I found myself at a turning point in my life. Samuel was starting Kindergarten, and I looked back and thought about all of the things that I never got around to doing with him. And while I felt extremely fortunate to have been able to have stayed at home with him (for the most part) during the first few years of his life because there were so many things that we got to do together, there was also a part of me that truly felt like I could have done a few things differently. And I think I kind of made an unconscious decision to let go of some of the more trivial things in my life, in an effort to focus more on what really matters. Specifically, I decided to start spending more quality time with my kids and let go of some of my household chores. I've always been somewhat of a clean freak. And letting go of some of the household chores was, well, liberating in a way. I no longer cared about what my house looked like because I was spending quality time with my kids! It was strange for me, but comforting too. Hector told me one day that it was like I'd "lost that lovin' feelin' for cleanin'." And maybe that's true, because the house kept getting dirtier and dirtier, and things kept getting put off, and then put off some more. And even though when it came time for Avery to start Kindergarten I experienced some of the same feelings that I had when Samuel was starting Kindergarten, I knew in my heart that I had nothing to regret. Because over the past year, instead of cleaning the baseboards, Avery and I painted our toe nails together. Instead of cleaning the ceiling fans, we gave ourselves pedicures. Instead of washing the dishes, we baked cookies and dirtied up more dishes. Instead of scouring the bathtubs, we went shopping together and laughed at ourselves in the mirrors of the dressing room as we tried on silly clothes. Instead of keeping my backyard grass looking good, we dug up some of the grass and made mud pies with Isaac. Instead of organizing Avery's room (again!) we turned up the music and danced, and laughed and laughed and laughed. And instead of holding on to some of my more expensive lotions and perfumes, we used up all of my smelly lotions, and we sprayed ourselves with the really expensive perfumes whenever we felt like it (the same lotions and perfumes that I'd always told myself I'd get around to using another day, and have been sitting on top of my dresser for years)...

Now, please don't get me wrong. I still find time to clean. I mean, I've not gone completely off the deep end here. Now that Samuel and Avery are in school, there are times throughout the day like when Isaac is napping, when I have a little free time and I do, in fact, clean the house. We've still got to live in this house! Earlier this past week, as Hurricane Ike was making it's way to the Texas Gulf Coast, I found myself looking for ways to distract my attention away from the weather channel. And so, I cleaned. I finally got around to cleaning the dining room blinds that Avery squirted tomato seeds on several months ago. Those tomato seeds sat on those blinds for months, but I never got around to cleaning them off until this past week. It felt good to finally get it done. And as Ike got closer and closer, and we realized that it would be hitting the Houston area, my mother and step father prepared themselves to possibly evacuate the area and leave their home. My mom told me that she had taken their important papers and most beloved belongings out of their home to take with them. And as I looked around my own home, I wondered what I would take with me if I were in the same situation. Would I take my purses and jewelry? Would I take my perfumes and lotions? Would I take the numerous knick-knacks I've collected over the years? Would I take all of my kids' toys? I seriously doubt it.

When it comes right down to it, those things are not really important, and they certainly are not my most beloved belongings. If you had to leave your home, if you had to gather up your most important and beloved belongings, and take with you only the things that could fit into your car, what would you take with you? Oddly enough, as I looked around my home, there really was not a lot of things that I felt like I absolutely would need to take with me if I were in that situation. I might grab my photo albums and camera. I might grab the kids' baby books and important documents from the filing cabinet. I might grab my wedding dress and wedding album. I have no doubt that I would grab my husband, our 3 children, and our pets.

Sometimes in life, it's okay to put aside the things that don't really matter so much, especially when it means that you get to focus on other, much more important things. So, I'll take on my new title as a house cleaning procrastinator, and I'll wear it with great pride. After all, those cob webs I see in the corners can wait to be cleaned another day. Right now, I've got a box full of crayons, some construction paper, and a very excited 1 year old waiting for me at the dining room table.