Housecleaning

Zack comes home from camp this afternoon. I'm going to clean his room...I have a shovel, face mask, and gloves. I have definitely allowed him to have his own "space"...but right now, I have to clean it and give him a fresh canvas to start over in. I'm pretty sure it will be a mess again before the end of the week, but feeling like I have to do my "motherly" duty.

My Mom was "June Cleaver". If you don't remember June Cleaver, she was the Beav's mom. She wore a dress with pearls and always an apron...OK, my Mom didn't wear the pearls, but our house was always PERFECT. I should look back at that with appreciation, but I really don't. Our house was never dirty, yet every Saturday was house cleaning day...and I DO mean day! It took ALL DAY to clean an already clean house. We were never (and I do mean never) allowed to wear shoes in the house. We weren't allowed to close our bedroom doors and our rooms needed to be ready for viewing at all times...beds made, clothes put away, all knick-knacks in place, nothing out of place. We were only allowed to sit on the living room furniture when we had company. I AM NOT KIDDING! (However, I would like to note that when she sold the furniture to a relative 25 years after buying it, it looked brand new.) There were never any dishes in our sink or in a drain rack. They were washed, (even before going into the dishwasher), dried and put away IMMEDIATELY after each meal. I love my Mom, but lots of family time and fun time was given up because the house was "dirty". I found out later in life that her "perfect" house actually came from some things that happened in her childhood that made her feel so imperfect on the inside...but as a kid I didn't have that knowledge.

I definitely have not followed in my Mom's footsteps. My house is lived in...right now a little too lived in. Saturday is NEVER cleaning day...there is no designated day...just when I have a little extra time on my hands. We wear our shoes in the house if we want to, we even put our feet (without shoes) on the furniture. There are often dishes in the sink and I don't wash them in soapy water before putting them in the dishwasher. I use dishtowels to wipe my hands...anything that doesn't go in the dishwasher air dries. You wouldn't want to eat off of any of our floors. I still find little puffs of dog hair and the dog has been gone for a while now.

Maybe I should have found a balance. I always make plans to do better...but life is busy and the house is just not always my first priority. However, today 2 rooms are going to become a priority (can't really do his unless mine is a good example).

OK, have avoided it long enough...I'm going in, if you don't see a blog for awhile, please call 911.