Measuring up to Martha
Today's guest blog comes from Cathy Adcock in Human Resources. Take it away, Cathy!
Weekends in spring awaken a yearning in me. Unlike no other time of year - in springtime I long to be Martha Stewart.
I'd like to bring out my patio furniture and refresh the cushions with some sinfully simple but secret lemon and vinegar recipe - rather than brushing the winter debris from the seats and having the kids bounce in and out of them to see if they'll last another season.
I'd love to move easily from closet to closet, effortlessly folding winter clothing and outerwear into neatly labeled and moth-proof storage boxes - boxes I have managed to cover with coordinating wallpaper scraps I picked up from the neighborhood hardware store. Reality is two huge clear plastic bins which are brought up from the basement in October and May. I persuade my kids with candy to try on last summer's/winter's clothes - sorting into piles - fits - doesn't fit. The boys usually end up running around the house in their underwear - too much play time taken up on this project - no time to redress themselves.
My longing to be Martha Stewart in springtime is familiar and the disappointment of reality has dulled over time. I turn 40 this year - and I like to think that I have learned to appreciate the balance between the Martha Stewart ideal and the Cathy Adcock reality.
With Isabelle - 10, Charles - 8, and Michael - 5, spring time at the Adcock house is necessarily effortful. Rather than the tidy, peaceful, and manicured approach to spring that Martha embodies - our preparations for the season more closely resemble an episode of the Sopranos: there will be shouting, mumbled profanities, name calling, bribery, and someone will probably get "roughed up".
On Monday night, as I sat next to the tub, washing the weekend off of Michael - I was able to savor the few small Martha victories the long weekend had afforded me. The children's clothes are sorted, the dead annuals from last summer have been pulled from my planters and replaced with new ones, and the flower wreath hanging from my front door is now seasonally appropriate.