It is interesting how much our (however temporary) present reality can affect our thinking.

I wrote that pair of posts about “Not just staying home” while I was still recovering from my severely twisted ankle, and while I was still basically useless around the house.  (And feeling a higher need to justify non-house activities.)

Today, while I still think it’s good to have a vision beyond my days with children at home, I got to tire myself out in a satisfying return to my “domestic duties.”

Jay came home from his evening meeting at church and saw the work I’d done. “Well, we totally blew that Sabbath,” he said, referencing my accomplishments and his work on his car.

I didn’t have words for it at the time, but now I’d say that my cleaning felt like an act of worship, in a way it maybe never has before. I was so *delighted* at what my recovering body could do.

Despite my clingy boy’s protestations (no guilt here), I cleared and swept the floor of the front part of my little-ish house. That would be the living room, kitchen, and dining area.

Those, along with 2 dishwashers and 4 racks of sink dishes cleaned over the weekend (Jay’s good help) and a cheery new (hand-me-down) floral couch, have transformed my home and me. I am positively Miss Domestic again.

For the moment.

After being physically-incapable of maintaining my home for about a month, I am reeling. Giddy. I am doing my job and getting back to doing it well.

I was telling my husband just last week, “When I feel absolutely refreshed and energized when I come home from a writers’ group or a critique meeting, I feel like that’s an indication it belongs in my life. The question left is, where?”

I felt like that tonight only about homekeeping. Without the hanging, Where?.

And I made two (good) meals from scratch in the same day, in addition to cleaning, and cooking’s been a challenge as long as the cleaning, so this also feels like a victory.

I feel a disproportionate delight when I see these accomplishments that will (in theory) mean nothing tomorrow.

But what I think God’s been teaching me about this homekeeping stuff during my convalescence is that it is meaningful the next day.

By maintaining daily the accumulating areas, I keep stress and additional clean-up times minimal, providing more freedom to do fun and creative things with my kids.

And I (almost) never do creative –read, messy— stuff with my kids when the house is out of order.

The fact that I have had seasons of fun, creative stuff-doing reminds me I can get (and even keep) my house in order. But, as in everything, it is only by the grace of God.

Happy Monday, everyone.