Polishing Priorities

I know some women who get great joy and satisfaction out of cracking open a fresh bottle of bleach or lavender scented fabuloso and going to town on scrubbing the toilet. Or slapping on a pair of rubber gloves and washing and polishing their floors to a beautiful gleaming polish. "You could eat off my floor" they proudly think...not that they ever do. The soothing hum of a vacuum can be heard through their hallways 5-7 days a week.

I often envy those women. I mean, who doesn't love a clean, fresh, and tidy home? It's just the process of getting there that I don't love. Oh, to be able to whistle a happy tune while washing the dishes. I always thought that the gift of incessant cleaning would be in my genes. No such luck. My mom taught me well, though. I know all the secrets to making your home sparkle and shine. I was even taught at quite a young age that the only proper way to make a bed was with perfectly folded "hospital corners". Now I only do them if I am feeling quite peppy and my perfectionism takes over.

There are some people, who I know, who cannot have people over or any type of visitor or company unless the bathrooms have all been scrubbed and the floor has been mopped that day. The house must be supremely immaculate. I guess the point is: How can you have people over for dinner if you can't eat your dinner from every surface in the house...if you needed to for some reason? Surprisingly, I used to feel this way. Now, I'm over it. Otherwise, we'd never have company and if we did, then I'd probably fall asleep at the dinner table out of exhaustion and inhaling too much lavender scented fabuloso.

Now, in order to deal with my predicament of not having a spotless home 24/7 and also wanting to entertain guests and have company on a regular basis, I have a secret club. It used to be very exclusive...but is becoming somewhat more "open to the public". So if you are a member of my secret club, then you have at some point shown up to my house, or have maybe even been invited over, when it was kind of a mess. You probably walked in and thought, "She could have at least moved the laundry off the dining room table before we came over" or "Is that diapers I smell?" You'll know you've been initiated when you see three weeks worth of mail spread all over the counter and then spy some leftover cheerios and puffed rice under the highchair. Please don't feel offended, because it only means that I decided to hang with you in my somewhat (or sometimes very) messy home instead of not at all. Or maybe you just surprised us with a visit and we didn't have a choice.

I often think about what my cleaning habits will teach my daughter. Hopefully she'll someday recognize that although our bathtubs were not really clean enough to eat out of and our windows were always a bit smudgy, that we spent lots of time together. I sang "Pop goes the weasel" a hundred times instead of doing the dishes and read "Mr. Brown can Moo" twelve times with immense enthusiasm instead of vacuuming that day. And we always welcomed family and friends into our usually not so spotless home. I hope she learns to choose people over perfectly polished windows and floor. But, I will teach her how to make things sparkle and shine and maybe even give her a lesson on "hospital corners" because sometimes these things come in handy.

Here is a passage from Luke 10:38-42

38As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" 41"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42but only one thing is needed.^[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

I have great admiration for the women who can balance both spending time with family and friends and keeping track of their household duties. For me, it is a big challenge. For now, until someone gives me some pointers, I will keep initiating people into my secret club.


Sara