Let's Play House!

What little girl doesn't love playing house? Indeed it was one of my all-time favorite games and though I was without a play kitchen or any of the super neat commercialized kitchen gadgets of my time, I would improvise with what I had - many times, only my imagination. So it only makes sense that I would love living - not playing - in my house these days!

For many reasons, I actually do really enjoy the time I spend on Saturday mornings cleaning, cooking, planning, budgeting, doing laundry, running errands, working out, and organizing. My accountant, very anal and semi Type A personality comes out most when I am enjoying my post-its of tasks for the day, and I can go about my day without any interruptions - no husband (he has been on call until at least 3:30 every Saturday for the last 5 weeks), no child, absolutely nobody. I think of ways I can improve my multi-tasking, can I pop the laundry in, wash the dishes, fold the laundry and watch an episode of Community all within the next 25 minutes? What can I rearrange in order to maximize my efficiency and effectiveness? Like a mini-consultant, I analyze each week's mishaps and consider all approaches at improving my next run of Saturday morning tasks. It's challenging, but also rewarding when I am able to do better than the prior week. And regardless of the dull monotony of it all, I am surprisingly fascinated each week (though it hasn't been that long).

It reminds me of my job in more ways than I'd like to admit. We do the same thing.. we face the same challenges (no matter what the PCAOB or SEC may come out with), and with each new team, we find ways to bond and make it through the audit. And no matter how hard it seems, we always get through it,look back, reflect and feel really good about the progress we made. We laugh at the pile of wholesale junk food (intertwined with some wannabe healthy snacks to make us feel a bit better), the kill file of papers, the whiteboard of tasks crossed out and the remnants of every team member getting sick while on the job (it's really gross actually). But in the end, we feel good about it because we made it as a team and soon after, we get a pat on the back and a team celebration (often at an overpriced restaurant I would never go to without Uncle P footing the bill).

Such are so many things in life that will continue to be that way. Challenging... yes. Repetitive... maybe. Rewarding... definitely.

I know playing house won't always be fun. I know having Baby P around will make it difficult for me to go about my normal routine. I know sleep will not be an option anymore. I know playing house everyday might not be as fun as once a week.

But I also know that just like audit and just like playing house.... living home will be tough, frustrating, unbelievable, and insane! .. but always bearable, doable, and rewarding.

I just have to remember that when I'm dying for sleep, when I'm sick of poopy diapers, when the baby is crying and I have no clue what to do, when multitasking is not an option, when separating my laundry by whites and colors is a thing of the past, when getting ready for Church means more than 15 minutes, when life is more than just Andy and me.

But just like audit... the work always gets done. But in audit, we are all dispensable... even playing house.. anyone can do it. But with my baby.. I am the only one who will be his mother ...and that is so exciting! Isn't it?!