Pick yourself up, dust yourself off

[Sigh] It's been one of those days. But, choosing to look on the bright side, here is what I accomplished:

I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher.

I went grocery shopping and actually planned more than one day ahead.

I read to my daughter.

I made dinner for my family.

Will I do the laundry tonight? This is yet a mystery, but there is hope.

You need not be impressed by this paltry list, but here is the backdrop that causes me to count minor as major:

I spent the entire weekend in bed (literally), recovering from/staving off a nasty cold. This was difficult to do because of the gnawing guilt we mothers suffer when we are not being all that we think we should be, or, in fact, being not one smidge what we think we should be. I did not cook. I did not clean. I did not plan meals. I did not take care of children. What did I do? Crosswords. And I watched season 2 of The Office (apparently I missed this season entirely - Hey, Dad, I'm ready for a rematch), among other random Netflix offerings.

In addition to this weekend's specific lack of accomplishment, this school year we have been highly negligent in our responsibility toward our daughter, the second-born, by not consistently reading with her every day, which is, by the way, a required component of her daily homework. Again, not my child's failure, but my own (see Science Fair post for reference to this guilt-trip).

Regarding the dinner issue: Due to the recent rash of upper-respiratory illnesses in the house, demanding work schedules, busy extracurricular activities, and general fatigue, my desire to provide healthy, home-cooked meals for my family has proven a difficult undertaking. Over the last few weeks, sadly, we have accumulated numerous various fast-food-kid-meal toys. The unhealthiness of it all (plus the expense) nearly drives me mad. But when you are in survival mode, you survive, and to survive is enough. And now we move on.

As I was pondering these things this evening, while I was working on the dinner I had no desire and little energy to prepare, the following song lyrics along with its cheery tune intruded itself into my mind:

"Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again."

You just don't expect the Lord to speak a word of encouragement to you in the form of an old Astaire/Rogers song. And yet He does.