When my kids were little, every mothers day, birthday, and any excuse I could come up with to ask for it, I liked to say the only gift I really wanted was a clean house. As these were the years before we really understood what ADHD even was, much less had any of us officially diagnosed (one) and others highly suspicious, I can look back and see why this was such a desperate wish for me, and why it was so unachievable. I have a birthday coming up in a week, and in honor of my past self, this is still the present I most want (well, other than maybe a big winning lotto ticket). Sadly I have come to accept the reality that the only way I can get this gift is to do it myself, and then snarl like a half-starved mama wolf when the rest of the household and family try to drop their crap on the horizontal spaces I clear off. There is one adult culprit who is more likely to try this than all the others, but there are also children who roll in here like blue-eyed tornadoes on the regular.
I started cleaning as soon as I downed a cup of coffee this morning, and I didn't stop until about ten minutes before game night guests arrived. I pushed myself harder than I usually do, and I am able to sit and admire my work now. I put a few things back on the walls that had been lying around since the last painting progress. I dusted like I have never dusted before, making every surface much better (and it's got a chance of staying better now that I'm finally back to the good cat litter, and there aren't fans blowing in every room anymore.) My west side plant shelves are reorganized, finally fully-lit, and properly watered. The cords next to my chair are wrangled. I still have a lot to do, but tomorrow is feeling a lot more manageable.
There were setbacks today. The above-mentioned blue-eyed tornadoes came over this afternoon, while mommy and daddy had a conference with the teacher. (Reports are excellent, and Valerie is nailing pre-K like a champ.) There were little drink spills on the freshly-shampooed carpet, and the puzzles are now shuffled into some wrong boxes. This is to be expected. I have hopes that organizing and cleaning everything else will pave the way for making toy storage more efficient. But for now, I'm more interested in being able to see the formica on my peninsula for the first time in months.
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