Time to Crank It Up A Notch

One of my new goals is going to be, accepting more responsibility in my life. Poets and Writers have the tendency to really enjoy their solitude and I am no exception. But Saul Williams, one of my favorite poets and musicians, said something last year that stayed with me from the moment I read it. (I'm paraphrasing here) "how it is important for poets and writers to come out of their comfront zone and accept more responsibility for the world we live in." Not just sit alone in our homes, favorite coffee shop, or library and write but make more of an initiative to "get out" there. By "get out" there, I believe he was talking about cranking everything we do up a notch.

By nature, I am a writer, a thinker, and an analyzer. I am going to do everything my way, and fully accept whatever consequences that may come later. (One of the quotes I personally live by is, "I'd rather ask for forgiveness than ask for permission.") What I am NOT, by nature, is a housekeeper. Cleaning, scrubbing and making sure my home is tidy does not come natural to me. For the most part, I have NO idea where to start. And since I've lived most of my life without a mother figure, still am pretty clueless. But in this promise to myself to crank "life" up a notch, I have decided to become a better housekeeper in my own home.

And lo and behold, I wake up this morning and read Sister's Chi-Chi's post on Home is Where the Heart Is. Which is extremely true for me. However, just when I was about to ask her where did she start, she posted a link to Organization. (Almost as if she wrote this particular post with me in mind)It came complete with details and all. Yeah! I am on the "effin" ball here.

In addition to her beautiful post about her maintaining the castle her king and two little princes reside in, she also mentions something I am constantly battling (although it is not much of one any longer) in my home...television. I am NOT a television watcher. There isn't a program on the idiot box that entices me, except that new channel, LINK TV. But my husband claims to need his television. And he watches plenty of it too. We have one in our room, but I refused to get the cable box connected in our bedroom (which my mother-in-law brought for him last Christmas) so the only thing that he can watch on that one are DVD's. And sometimes he uses it to play his game box. But no live television.

However, he slips A LOT and allows the children to watch to much tv. Every time I turn around (especially on the weekend's) I have to direct the children to other activities. And since my mother-in-law moved in, I am now required to do the same with her television. One day I walked into her bedroom and my oldest daughter was watching, Chocolate News, the new program on Comedy Central.

I remember walking past her bedroom, hearing all kinds of foul language, opened the door to her bedroom, saw my oldest daughter sitting on the bed beside her, and I just stared at my daughter. Within a few seconds she just got up and left. (I'll admit, I also lost a great deal of respect for my mother-in-law that day). I walked into the living room where my daughter was sitting and asked her what that program was about. She said that she really didn't know, so I approached my mother-in-law and told her for the umpteenth time to stop allowing my children to watch programs with her.

It looks like the only way I am going to be able to control the situation with my children, is to permit them to only watch DVD's. I'll keep you updated on that.

As far as sounds, we only play new age, spa radio, classical music and jazz in our home. In my bedroom, I play a larger variety but never "raw" rap or baby making music like R-Kelly. I am a true believer in burning incense and candles. I also purify my home twice a month by burning sage. Around seven o clock in the evening, all noises including the music are normally powered off and we are making preparations for the next day.

My home is remarkably calm and peaceful. My children all run the halls playing tag, inviting me and my husband to picnics and tea parties, and whole body massages are a part of our weekly -if not daily- routine. I love touching the skin on my family and they just suck it up. There is no doubt, I've been blessed by the God's. But I can still kick everything up an entire notch -or two. And I am going to enjoy doing it. The first place I am going to start is in my home by keeping it much tidier, and focusing on keeping everything in its place. Thank you, Chi-Chi!

There ain't no shame, in this writer's game!