Time to set a new record

70 days ago I committed to going to bed with a clean kitchen.

This is something I’ve struggled with all of my adult life, and it’s something that adds chaos, frustration to my days from the minute I wake up every morning.

For 67 days I was perfect.

I went to bed with a clean sink, clean counters, and a clean conscience.

Well a clean kitchen conscience, anyway.

Two days ago I started doing some meal prep for the week ahead and a travel swim meet we have this weekend.

And then around 8:30 pm I sat down on the couch to take a break and left some dishes soaking in the sink.

I woke up at 11:15 pm.

It probably would have taken less than 10 minutes to clean everything up.

But I also have been having some sleep issues.

The issue being that I wake up every night and have a really hard time going back to sleep.

This is why I fell asleep on the couch to begin with.

Yay menopause.

I could have gone into the kitchen and maintained my perfect streak. 

I thought about it.

But then it would have taken me even longer than the usual  1 – 2 hours it takes now to fall back asleep.

So I went right up to bed and left the dishes in the sink.

There weren’t even that many dishes waiting.

I mean, a few years ago I would have considered what I left in the sink the other night to be relatively clean.

Or even a couple months ago.

So I’ve come a long way.

Plus, I knew this day was coming.

I didn’t know when or why it would arrive.

But I knew sooner or later the streak would end.

Life would happen.

Perfection would come to an end.

The most important thing to focus on when you’re trying to grow and improve isn’t perfection.

It’s what happens the day after your perfect streak ends.

The day after perfect.

What happens when you fall down? How do you talk to yourself?

Do you tell yourself how much of a loser you are, say screw it because you aren’t perfect anymore, and stay on the ground?

Or do you recognize your growth, learn from what happened, get back up, and get back at it?

I recognized the crap out of my growth. 

SIXTY-SEVEN DAYS!!!! 

That’s actually a really huge accomplishment for me, and I’m super proud of myself.

I learned that I better not sit down on the couch after 8 pm when the kids aren’t here with any dishes in the sink if I want to go to bed with a clean kitchen.

And then I got back up and got back at it.

Tonight is two days in a row.

69/70 days.

That’s still A+ work (and if it wasn’t that would be okay because 71 days ago I was holding steady at an F- for decades.)

Now to see if I can string more than 67 days in a row together.

That’s a record for me.

Time to set a new record.