I will be the first to admit that I'm not always completely rational... Once in a while I get worked up about something inconsequential or fail to recognize the importance of some other event or risk, etc... What can I say? It happens.
So it may not come as much of a surprise to those who know me best (Jason, Mom...) that one of my biggest concerns after losing my job was that I would have to start cleaning my own house again!
Lest you think I am a complete princess, I did grow up doing various chores including mowing the yard (until the blessed day we found out I'm allergic to all kinds of grass) and cleaning my portion of the upstairs, and I even worked at the carwash (albeit briefly...babysitting was more my cup of tea), and until June 29 of this year, I had not been without a job since I turned sixteen.
I just don't like to clean. When I lived in a 490 square foot apartment by myself it was at least quick, then for a while right after we got married it was like playing house, then after we moved South I didn't mind it at first because I just adored our home, and before long Jason started to pitch in when I pointed out that unlike yardwork and other "boy chores" it's a mandatory, regular, year-round drudgery.
Then in May 2011 the heavens parted and the angels started to sing: for my third Mother's Day Jason gave me the best gift a man could ever give a woman -- even better than the Wine of the Month Club or the Brita Water Pitcher!!! He gave me Leslie.
The original intent was for Leslie to just come for a surprise deep clean, but I oohed and aaahed and thanked and begged and made all sorts of ridiculous promises (even going so far as to offer my ironing skills) that we got to keep her! And for 13 beautiful months Leslie and Herman showed up every two weeks and transformed our home. It was heaven on earth...
Then I lost my job, and the dream was over.
Now, being the best cleaning team in history, Leslie and Herman actually gave me one extra cleaning about 2 1/2 weeks ago, so I was able to stretch the glory just a bit longer. Then this weekend I realized we had family from Canada coming over for dinner, and the dust was thick enough to write in, so I scurried around Sunday afternoon and made the first floor presentable.
But today was the big day. Today was the day that I dragged out the cleaning supplies, enlisted my three-year-old side-kick and tackled some serious cleaning. We dusted, we mopped, we vacuumed (even behind the washer and dryer for some unknown reason), we scrubbed, and you know what? It wasn't so bad.
To be fair, I do think I might have gotten the job done a bit more quickly without Charlie's help, but he was having a ball and entertaining me at the same time. Who knew a vacuum was so exciting?
And now that we're almost 2 hours into today's nap (following a 3 hour nap yesterday!), I think we just might have a chance of surviving this "at home" thing after all. (But trust me, Leslie is still on my speed dial should I ever find gainful employment!)
