Going back to work

I'm going back to work!

Last night, I skimmed through my next Relief Society lesson. For those of you who are LDS, it's lesson 21 from the President Benson manual. I only read roughly half of it and what I took away from it was the importance of work and the blessing received by working.

I've been suffering from a bit of depression lately...okay, for awhile. Nothing too serious but it's been annoying. I get sad for no reason, have mood swings, and am ornery more than usual. I've wondered if I have postpartum depression - can you have PPD two years after giving birth???

Some of the blessings President Benson mentioned: independence, industry, thrift, self respect, vigorous health, praiseworthy achievement, a clear conscience, and refreshing sleep. Sounds great to me! So, I decided to go back to work to see if that will dispel my depression. Heck, it can't make it worse, right?

I told this to Steve this morning over breakfast. He raised one eyebrow (okay, I'm not sure he can actually do that, but if he can, he did) quizzically and asked where I was going to work.

I dramatically swept my arm in an arc encompassing our house, "Here".

Last night, I decided that if I was my boss, I'd fire me. I've really slacked off lately. I'm obviously not the only one who has noticed...not only is my upcoming lesson about work but our Enrichment night was about, among other things, cleaning and organizing our homes!! Try telling me that the Man Upstairs isn't trying to tell me to get back to work.

Using an example given at Enrichment, I've created a weekly chore chart for myself the is totally do-able. Each day consists of two or three tasks that should only take 30-45 minutes, total, to complete (excluding laundry which makes up for its length by its ease). Some days, I even give myself flexibility to choose a project that is a one-time or once-in-awhile chore instead of a weekly chore - cleaning out a closet or cleaning behind the stove, etc.

The lady who taught the house cleaning lesson at Enrichment said something that really struck me. She said that if you love your house, you'll take care of it. I do love my house. It's my home and has felt like my home from the moment we finished unpacking. I don't take care of it, not the way it should be, I mostly just keep it from getting too bad. That's not enough and it's going to change.

Saturdays are bathroom cleaning days, so this morning I woke up and cleaned both upstairs bathrooms. It would have been easy to not do it, since we were invited to play with family, but I did it quickly (but well) and it feels sooo good to have them clean.

I have a testimony of prophets and believe that by following their counsel, I can receive all the promised blessings. I believe that as I follow President Benson's inspired admonition to work, that I will be blessed with self-respect, sleep, good health, a clear conscience, and hopefully relief from the depression I'm struggling under. Even if the depression is caused by untreated PPD or even a chemical unbalance (its hereditary in my family), working can do only good things for me. I know I will be blessed, my family will be blessed...both physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Julie :)