Thank you for making my day better, Cake.

I haven't published anything for a while because I was CERTAIN that my next post should be about something good. I kept waiting and waiting for something awesome to happen so that I could write about it and share a positive experience, but nothing like that came my way. We're still dealing with our home improvement nightmare. My stomach muscles are still (and will continue to) rip apart slowly and torturously for the next 7+ weeks. The house continues to be a mess and we will never be 100% caught up on housework and laundry and dishes. The roads remain flooded with the Minnesota River's equivalent of muffin top, leaving Jared to commute and me to sit home alone for an extra hour each day. We've been transitioning the kids to sharing a single room, so we're running a little worse for the wear when it comes to sleep.

But good things did happen. Good things are still happening. My garden is growing. We're managing to hold down the fort and do at least the bare minimum of housework to get by. We are all healthy and safe. Jared and I went out for our anniversary and spent some time by ourselves for the first time in a long time.

I've been starting to feel the pressure of my impending due date and freak out about getting everything done. Jared has been really great at reminding me that when it all boils down, my concerns are trivial. There's a saying that I really like that goes something to the tune of, "Don't let perfect get in the way of good."

We have enough laundry. The house is dirty but okay. The weeds aren't hurting anything. All of these things are "good enough" and "good enough" wouldn't be called "good enough" if it weren't at least moderately acceptable, right?

Right now, I think it's healthiest for me to just say "good enough" is "good enough." I need to stay sane and present for my family. My kids still need me regardless of whether the house is sparkling or not.  I don't need to get upset about things that won't even be an issue six months from now.

Today I felt angry and discouraged after my doctor appointment and coming home to an ugly house. I got kind of fixated on my bad mood until this Cake lyric came on the radio:

"The ornaments look pretty, but they're pulling down the branches of the tree."

Pretty is nice, but not at the expense of pulling down my branches. I just need to focus on keeping my head in the game. Maybe I should buy that song to remind me.