Do you need a life coach?

Last week Sue Shellenbarger of the Wall Street Journal wrote a column about the growth of the "Life Coach" industry. Since many families are waaaay overextended -- two working parents, myriad kid activities, uncontrolled clutter and chaos in the home, meals on the run -- some are turning to these coaches to help them get their lives in balance. The coaches help families (well, let's be honest here -- moms) organize their homes, create a 'command central' for sorting schoolwork and bills, identifying activities to cut out or ways to better manage them, and helping them determine what is really important in the grand scheme of life. Sound too good to be true?

Ack! Is this what it's come to? When my kids are older is our home going to be like Grand Central Station -- a place where we pass through for a shower, quick meal and a night's sleep? When I read stuff like this, I think that I will NEVER let our lives get that chaotic. We will NEVER be so busy that we can't spend quality family time together, and that I can't pay our bills on time or fix a home-cooked meal. But is that realistic? I just don't know what the future of having older kids will bring.

And do you really believe it is possible to run a household like a well-oiled machine? Don't you think that these Real Simple/Martha Stewart/HGTV home decor/organization outlets are a little unrealistic, yet manage to make us feel bad that we don't live a perfectly organized existence? (After all, we don't have a staff and a photographer to make our lives so pretty.) I know that there are days when I feel like I don't have control of any part of my life and it drives me crazy. But then there are days when I tackle the never-ending clutter on the dining room table, can think calmly about dinner, spend an afternoon drawing silly pictures with my kids, organize the bills, etc. But I just don't think it is realistic to expect that a home with children will be a place of constant order and calm. Isn't life supposed to be a little messy?

Comments

[Renee]

Yes, I need one. Will I get one? Unlikely. I find that I do at times feel inadequate when I compare what my life looks like (the mess, the constant frantic attempts to just "keep up" with it al) with those swank images in magazines. And those feelings seem tied to when I'm just feeling blue, or sick or tired or down on my life. Other times, when I'm feeling more "up," I can easily rationalize all the messiness in my life, and roll with it. Telling myself that it is normal and that everyone I know has a house that looks like a disaster area. And if they don't then they must have lots of paid help (which I do not).

[Julie]

You can be a very organized person and not be neat. You can be the neatest person in the world and not be organized. How do I know? It's what I do. No, I'm not a life coach, but I am an organizer. I think the problem most people run into is not having a system set up to handle everything that comes into the home. It's nice to have a place to put things when you WANT to put them away... instead of having things piled around you with no where for the piles to go. No your house doesn't need to look like a Martha Stewart set all the time. The good Lord knows I have an almost 3 year old and that isn't going to happen here! But I CAN pick up the entire house in about 10 minutes if someone calls to say they're stopping by. Even my organizationally challenged hubby can manage this "10 minute tidy". How? Everything has a place.