The purpose of our homes is to be a Sanctuary.  We want to be able to open our doors and feel our blood pressure drop.  I don’t know about you, but my home for a “longish” while ceased to be that for me.  In my efforts to figure out what a Home should be, I kinda hit both Ditches.  When I was newly married, I was Obsessed with Cleanliness.  Tidiness and Organization.  I was going to BE Martha Stewart’s nemesis dang it.  I was going to show HER what’s up.  I was Strung Out and Anxious.  Tighter than a Fiddle String.  Then I looked at my Kids and I had this Epiphany.  They Don’t Care.  But they do Need Me.  So I let it all go.  The laundry piled up and the dust.  The cat litter box overflowed.  I hugged my kids a lot and was present. I finally felt like a Good Mom.  But I also felt like a Lousy Housekeeper.  I was Embarrassed of my Home.  The messier it got the more overwhelmed I felt.

So now, it is about Balance.  That Fine Line.  The Tight Rope Walk.  I tune into my Feelings.  When my Home is where it needs to be for my comfort level I also am a Good Mom.  I feel like my kids have a Home they can be proud of too.  Also when all else fails, there’s nothing to make a home look better faster than Lamp Light.  Tulips by the Sink.  And Jazz floating gently in the air.  Mingled with a Mild Amount of Dust.  And tinkly Daughter Laughter.  That’s Utopia to Me.  Thank You Life.  I Love You.

They can look like Monsters in the Dark.  Lurking in the corner.  Waiting to jump out and ambush you as you trek back to bed after grabbing the last Ferrero Rocher.  The relief floods over you after the  flick of the  lightswitch and see it’s nothing but your daughter’s coat on the coat rack.  In the corner by the door.

To me Failure can be like Coat Racks at Night.  Just something Inanimate.  Hanging Out.  Doing it’s Job and being Hated for it.  Let me explain.

Yesterday over a serendipitous lunch with my dear photographer friend Sharmi, we got into this fabulous discussion.  Great conversations is just par for the course with Sharm.  She told me at night she discusses with her children what they Failed at that day.  “What did you do that was kinda crummy…?” she says to her three little boys.   They have this easy discussion around that Dreaded Word.  In other words, she flicks the light switch.  Get’s it out in the Open.  Takes the Scary out of it.

Basically what she’s teaching her kids is to be a Tenacious Failure.  That’s basically all successful people are anyway.  Success will never be a Destination.  It is a Journey.  Any person that you have labeled Successful is still waking up every morning and failing that day on some level.  But they Readjust and Reevaluate.  They’re Tenacious with their actions to reach their goals.  They stay Inspired.

In other words, the lights are always on.  They don’t make Monsters out of Coat Racks. Failure’s just doing its job.  Hanging Out.  Getting you where you need to go.  Fail today my friends.  It’s OK.  Because it means you’re living and moving towards your goals.  I’m proud of you.  I love you. xo