Doing the Best You Can: Please Excuse the Mess

A commitment to show up and write my truth | Day 315 of 365

I spent the whole day cleaning and organizing, and friends, the place is still a mess.

Houseguests are on their way, and we have a full day tomorrow. The cleaning I had arranged fell through at the last minute, and the hard water here leaves a cloudy film on everything no matter how long I scrub.

Somewhere around my third pass at the bathroom faucet, I put the sponge down and asked myself what actually matters before people walk through that door.

Most of us know that hour before company arrives. You’re wiping the counter with one hand and sliding a pile of mail into a drawer with the other, and every car that pulls up sounds like the doorbell. It’s easy to believe the whole visit depends on what you can finish in the next sixty minutes.

What Doing the Best You Can Really Looks Like

Yesterday I wrote about checking in on everyone except myself. Today handed me a chance to practice it while staring at water spots that refuse to come off.

Doing the best you can doesn’t mean doing everything. Today it means choosing. Fresh sheets on the guest bed and a bathroom that’s clean, even if the faucet still looks a little foggy, are what matter for the people coming to stay.

The closet I meant to reorganize can wait. So can the drawer that’s been bothering me since summer. Nobody walking in tomorrow will notice either one, and I would rather go into a full day with some energy left than with a perfectly arranged pantry.

That’s discernment, and it doesn’t come naturally to a recovering perfectionist. My old instinct was to push until midnight and call it dedication. I’ve learned there’s a difference between finishing well and finishing everything.

Good Support Is Worth Waiting For

Having someone help care for our home is one of the best gifts I’ve ever given myself, and it took me years to see it that way. So many of us grew up believing a capable woman handles everything on her own. Somewhere along the line, I decided that needing support meant I was falling short.

I don’t believe that anymore. Support gives me back hours, and those hours go to the people and the work I love. When I know our home is in good hands, I show up more fully everywhere else.

So I’m still looking for the right person, and I’m not in a hurry to settle. Today made it clear that reliable matters far more to me than available. A last-minute cancellation stings, especially the night before company arrives. It also tells me exactly what I’m looking for.

The right support is worth the wait.

Some Things Can Wait, and That’s a Choice

As I write this, I’m still in the middle of it. There’s no beautifully finished house to report back on, only a full day of real effort and a clear idea of what comes next.

Plans fall apart the day before you need them. The timing is awkward and you’re already tired. You decide what’s worth your energy, and you let the rest be.

If you’re standing in your own half-finished kitchen tonight with people on the way, give yourself the same permission. The people who love you are coming to see you. They aren’t coming to inspect your baseboards.

For tonight, I’m doing the best I can, and I’ve decided that’s enough.

Please excuse the mess.

About the Author | Day 315 of 365

I’m a soul-led coach, entrepreneur, mother, and recovering perfectionist, currently navigating healing, uncertainty, temporary chapters, motherhood, work, big transitions, grief, nervous system healing, overstimulation, emotional growth, and the ongoing lesson that life works a whole lot better when we stop trying to carry everything alone. Today, I’m choosing what matters and letting a little mess stay where it is.

Day 315 of 365. Still showing up, mess and all. 🐧