A Place for Everything

I was joking the other day with a friend that I related more to the husband in "Sleeping With the Enemy" than the wife.  (Simmer down, domestic abuse is not a laughing matter nor is it my intent to imply that.)  It's just that I like things...a certain way.

Um, my way.

Yesterday I handed Noble a clean towel and asked him to hang it on the oven door.  I handed it to him smooth and folded, polka dot side up JUST THE WAY I WANTED HIM TO HANG IT.  And he DID hang it, only wonky is the best descriptor.  And those polka dots?  The heathen hung them facing the stove.  Don't worry, I didn't beat him...but I sure did fix that towel when the kids left the kitchen.

It's a sickness, I know.

I also straighten the hand towel every time I'm near the bathroom. If you've ever been to one of my organization talks or worked with me on a project, you know I'm fond of saying "a place for everything and everything in its place."  That's pretty much a pillar of my life, whether talking about physical items or time.  I like everything in its place, whether physically or on the calendar/agenda.
After lunch yesterday, Kayci went off to Theater Camp and it was just going to be Noble and me for a couple of hours.  I suggested he get out his big Lego set and build.  And naturally, then came the question of where to build.  I suggested the dining room table, because selfishly, I can live with creative mess at one end of the table.  (But heaven help you if you leave mail on the eating end of the table).  Bubby wasn't wild about the table, because he needs room to spread out.  So we debated the living room floor.  My sweet Boy was home for lunch and he listened to our conversation for a bit before offering a compromise:  the floor at the end of the dining room we don't use.  Perfect!  So Noble got out his Legos and spent a good 2 and a half hours building.  In fact, he woke up this morning and got right back to it.


We bought Daddyboy a corn hole game last year for Father's Day.  We bust it out when we have friends over, and people often borrow it for their own parties, etc.  James set it up for Kayci's Sunday School party on Saturday night, and they played for over an hour.  Sunday afternoon, our family was back out there.  And yesterday when I left to take Kayci to camp, the boys headed outside and played for the second half of Daddy's lunch break.

Because it's available.  Accessible.  Inviting.

That's something I need to really think through, is how to make a place for play.  And creativity.

My boys taught me a valuable lesson yesterday:  neatness and play can coexist, side by side.

Now to apply that to my own goals, and quit letting discomfort over crazy stuff keep me from creating.  (What's stopping me from scrapbooking?  It's not time anymore--it's getting all that stuff OUT of my closet and dealing with it...seeing the clutter every day until it's done.  I've almost, almost gotten myself psyched up to put a table at the foot of our bed temporarily, just to work on scrapbooks.  Almost.)

I'll post a pic of the mess when I make it.  ;)