Wednesday, April 25, 2007

In Which I am Semi Inspired....

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Not really, I was inspired by Bigmama after reading her post about losing her maid to the resignation of her job. For which I applaud her! Not for losing her maid mind you, but for deciding to stay at home, which can be a tough decision.
Growing up, our house was kept immaculately clean. My mother was the epitomy of the domestic goddess, although I can assure you she would be rolling on the floor laughing if she knew I had just referred to her in those terms. Without fail, every Saturday, my mom would clean the house from top to bottom. And every Saturday, my sister and I were roped into participating in some way. Faithfully we would dust and clean the bathrooms, while cutting as many corners as possible in order to get out of there quickly! AND I HATED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!! We would invite our friends over, who would remove their shoes so as to not mar the white carpeting, and my mother would graciously apologize for the "mess".
I would love to say that as I got older, the importance of a spotless and orderly home, became just as apparent to me. Not the case. I clean, but only because it is neccesary. When I was younger, before I got married, I nannied for a couple of families in the Dallas area. Both of whom had maids or housekeepers, who not only cleaned up after the family, but cleaned up after me! Although, I should mention that one of them fell short of the cleaning lady code, I am sure. She was having domestic issues with her husband, who lived in Mexico. So she was on the phone. A LOT! She would forget to do things, and was ALWAYS eating the food in the fridge. She also cleaned for the couple across the street, and in a moment of breakdown, or absentmindedness, had folded the husbands boxers in with the towels in the linen closet. And forgot about it.
I got married, quit being a nanny, and we eventually had our own family. And let me tell you, I have NO IDEA how my mom kept our house so spotless, ALL THE STINKIN' TIME. I clean in spurts, I don't have a set day to do each task. Its pretty much every day, I follow my boys around, picking up while they then manage to leave a new trail behind me. I do dishes and laundry and sweep and mop. But for whatever reason, I can never seem to make much of a dent. And then the next day I start all over again!
I would LOVE to have a maid, even come just every two weeks. And I would appreciate her so much. My DH looks at me like I am insane, telling me, we don't need a maid. Yes, well lets see you take care of two boys, work in running a semi-new business, and keep our home immaculate. But, I will SOMEDAY have a housekeeper/cook named Helga who will love and take care of us as though we are her own! She will bake all kinds of goodies, and shoo the kids out of the kitchen while handing them a cookie. She and I will share a cup of coffee in the morning while we plan the menu for the week. And THEN and ONLY THEN will my house sparkle and shine and all of you out in bloggy land will bask in the glow of my CLEAN HOUSE!!! Of course, then I wake up and start the vacuum.... But, we should ALL have a goal!!

1 comment:

Sonya said...

LOL! I can see Helga now!

My mom always cleaned like a freak when we were young. We had chores to do everyday after we came home from school! We hated it. Our house was always very clean though. It never felt lived in though. My house now feels very lived in and I'm perfectly happy with some things being out of place!