The Magical Shining Sink

The last few weeks have been chaos…

There are so many things I cannot control in my life, choices made by the people I love being at the top of the list.  Today, as I sat with work and school piled up around me, I could not concentrate on anything I really needed to do.  Instead, anxiety about all the things I cannot control crept in…all the unknowns, all of the what if’s, all of the why’s…and I found myself in all too familiar territory where I could no longer function.

Years ago, while living in North Carolina, my bestie, Tiffany, introduced me to an angel named Fly Lady.  This sweet woman taught us many things in her book, “Sink Reflections”.  First and foremost, she taught us how to clean and shine our kitchen sink and keep it that way.  She did not say “do the dishes”, just shine the sink.  So, we did, but that was just the beginning!

At night, after our children were finally asleep, we would talk on the phone for hours and flylady our houses.  It was during this period that my husband went away for months of training and I was alone with three small and very busy children. I had therapists in my house for hours every day working with my autistic son, and I spent the bulk of my day driving to and from school, doctors, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and the audiologist.  Then, we got orders to move, and I had to put my house on the market, which meant I had to keep my house show ready at all times.  All by myself.

But, thanks to Fly Lady, and my cleaning buddy, my house was cleaner and more organized than ever before, or ever since.  The laundry was always done and put away, the kitchen was always spotless, every cabinet, closet, and drawer was perfectly organized, and my floors were as amazing as white carpet with children could be.  It was also the time that I felt the calmest and the most in control of my world…even though there was nothing in my life that was calm or in control, except my house.

As I sat in mental chaos this morning, I decided to take a break and do the one thing I knew I could do while my brain did its thing…I cleaned my kitchen, and I started by shining my sink.  There is something magical that happens when I clean.  All the crap I can’t control, no longer controls me.  I am able to grab onto the one thing that I can control, and all the rest seems to melt away and allows my brain to reset into a more calm and focused state.  No matter what else is going on in my world, I can control what my kitchen looks like…unless a teenager finds their way in there.  The good new is, I can make those wily folks fix their mess.

My kitchen is the one place I can go in the world where no matter what else is going on in my life I can make it pristine and beautiful, and that feels so good.

Now that my kitchen is under control, I am ready to tackle that stack of homework. 

Friends, if you find yourself struggling because of things beyond your control, go shine your sink…and then enjoy the smile on your face that follows. Everyone can use a little magic in their life.