I have a love language. Everybody does. Some people feel loved when they are given gifts. Others, when someone spends time with them. Rob feels loved when I sacrifice my own feelings and desires to do something for him; this is called "Acts of Service". I don't do that often enough. The "Acts of Service" I do for him are usually things that I think are important--like making sure he never runs out of clean undershirts or socks, or cleaning the bathroom (that he spends lots of time in--why do men do that?).
For me, however, my love language is "Words of Affirmation". I am an encourager. I know that is crazy, since I am a very negative person. Anyone who has ever lived with me knows that I complain and murmur a lot. But, it's true. When I see someone down and out, I try very hard to come up with a reason to encourage them. Even if it's a far stretch from where they are, I try to bring some sort of joy out of the circumstances they are in. If you are ever served some affirming and encouraging words from me, that's my way of telling you I love you. Don't brush it off, just tell me "Thank You" and know that you are loved!
Yesterday was a day where affirmation would have served me well. I spent all morning cleaning up the house. I did 4 loads of laundry--washed and folded; there is nothing in my dryer, currently! The dishwasher needed emptying, the sink was full of dirty dishes--half of which needed to be washed by hand. The counter tops and kitchen floor were filthy, so I scrubbed them, as well. After that, I had to feed the baby. Once I finished feeding her, she fell asleep and I went upstairs to scrub the master bath. Yes, I cleaned the outside and inside of the toilet, back behind the toilet and most of the baseboards in that room. Nobody noticed.
Rob came home from lunch early and I was upstairs cleaning the bathroom. He had to go and I was in his way. Frustrated, he went downstairs to the bathroom I had slated to clean next. It, of course, was filthy! Rob didn't say anything about it, he just went about his business. He's a smart man, after all!
But, after work, Rob came home to a house that looked like a tornado blew through it. I had a load of laundry across the loveseat, sorted out in piles to fold. The kitchen table was covered in school papers and folders. Dog toys and kid toys scattered the floors and the kitchen was a mess again. *sigh* Sometimes I wonder why I even bother. Rob came in, took one look around and stared, bewildered, at all that needed to be done before our Monday night Bible study group showed up.
I was so frustrated. All that work I'd put in all day long and nobody could even tell I'd done it. Sometimes I feel so invisible. Like, the things I do don't really matter at all. I mean, nobody tells me how great I am at doing the laundry. Rarely do I ever hear "Way to clean that toilet, Mommy!" or "Wow, did you remove everything from the counter tops just so you could clean the entire surface?". Yeah, nobody thinks to say things like that. I so enjoy doing it all, too! It's like art to me, somehow.
Follow me here: I take a jumbled, filthy canvas and I clean it all up, making it look presentable and welcoming to friends and family. I make it safe and pleasant to the inhabitants thereof, simply by cleaning the filth and the muck. And yet, nobody notices. To me, looking at my clean house and not acknowledging the beauty of it all is like looking at a painting and not noticing the care and the detail the artist placed in each brush stroke. Each color in the painting is deliberate and perfected by the artist; each placement of character and form is made to be pleasing to the on-looker. Nobody would characterize my clean house that way, but I do! Each swipe of the rag and each sway of the duster says to the inhabitants and visitors of my house "I love you and I think you are worthy of all this!"
Yes, there are piles of papers and stacks of junk and toys in a few areas of my house. We do live here and not everyone here enjoys cleaning as much as I do. I consider those areas to be a messy clean--kind of a Pablo Picasso clean. It's beautiful and aesthetically appealing, yet you can't really tell exactly what it is... However, if you notice that my baseboards shine, or that my mantle is dust-free, it's for you. I clean as much for you as I do for me. You are worthy of a clean-house-welcoming.
Showing posts with label Spring Cleaning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spring Cleaning. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Busy Day at the Zoo
Wow! We have had such an exciting day! First off, I bought an annual membership to the zoo. Online. Yes, I am that awesome! So, we decided that today was the perfect day for me to pack up all 3 kids and head for an outing.
Of course, we didn't get to the zoo until right at 3 p.m. It closes at 5. More on that later...
As I was getting everything sorted out and paid for online, I sent the older 2 kids and the dogs outside. They were out there for probably about an hour. Now, Aurora had come in and told me something about how she knew where the dogs were getting the red-colored dirt in their whiskers. Over the past week or so, they would come in with very Scottish-looking, previously white whiskers. I didn't pay much attention to WHY she was telling me, though. I just kind of shrugged it off, thinking she had found the dirt. Poor Aurora. She was trying to tell me something.
When I called the kids inside to eat before we left, I saw the dogs. Their paws and whiskers were caked with dirt--wet dirt, at that! Aargh!!!! I had just given those pups a bath yesterday! We were practically all packed up for the zoo and I didn't want to have to waste more time bathing the dogs before we left. So, I went upstairs and told Rob to leave the dogs outside until I got home. He gladly obliged; the thought of NOT meeting Sassy and her toe licks on the stairs made him happy.
So, the kids and I left for the zoo. When we got there, parking was crazy! People were parked on the grass outside of the parking lot. There was a place with good parking spaces, but it cost $5 to get in there. If I had brought some cash, I would have gladly paid for those spots. However, as I was driving around, a truck was backing out of a spot fairly close to the gate. What luck! (On St. Patrick's Day, no less.)
We were able to just scoot on in with our membership pass, which was wonderful! Ellie had never been to the zoo before--which I'm sure surprises you all, right? I mean, how many 2 month old babies have been to the zoo before? *severe eye roll at my own expense* I think I got more photos of Ellie smiling in her stroller than I did of any animals. I got lots of pictures of the kids in the petting zoo area, though, so that offsets it. We did all the fun things that we wanted to: the children's petting area, the rainforest room, the elephant exhibit, and the koi pond. Everyone was pretty exhausted by the time 4:30 rolled around, so I said "Let's go to the Gift Shop and then go home." Apparently, that was everybody else's idea, too! I could barely get the kids in there, much less me and a stroller! I'm pretty sure the Fire Marshall would have had a cardiac in regards to the number of people in that store! We left without getting to look at very much.
I had to feed Ellie in the van before we left. The kids thought that was pretty neat. It was like camping, they said. We really need to show them what camping really is! Once Ellie's belly was full, we headed home. Where I knew there were 2 crusty dogs waiting for their baths. That was the first thing I did. Neither one of them appreciated it, but I really didn't care! It's not ideal for me to give them a bath 2 days in a row. Now I have to clean the tub out again!
On top of the zoo, bathing dogs and feeding babies, I have also been doing laundry and continuing my Spring Cleaning today. I need to get the vacuum out and go over the downstairs with it. As you can probably imagine, I'm tired. Hence, my rambling in this post instead of doing what I should. *sigh* I think I'll wait to vacuum until after the kids are in bed tonight. After all, they contribute to the mess almost as much as the dogs do!
I seem to think there is something else I did today that was noteworthy. And, no, my showering is not it, although I was so glad to be able to wash my hair!
Of course, we didn't get to the zoo until right at 3 p.m. It closes at 5. More on that later...
As I was getting everything sorted out and paid for online, I sent the older 2 kids and the dogs outside. They were out there for probably about an hour. Now, Aurora had come in and told me something about how she knew where the dogs were getting the red-colored dirt in their whiskers. Over the past week or so, they would come in with very Scottish-looking, previously white whiskers. I didn't pay much attention to WHY she was telling me, though. I just kind of shrugged it off, thinking she had found the dirt. Poor Aurora. She was trying to tell me something.
When I called the kids inside to eat before we left, I saw the dogs. Their paws and whiskers were caked with dirt--wet dirt, at that! Aargh!!!! I had just given those pups a bath yesterday! We were practically all packed up for the zoo and I didn't want to have to waste more time bathing the dogs before we left. So, I went upstairs and told Rob to leave the dogs outside until I got home. He gladly obliged; the thought of NOT meeting Sassy and her toe licks on the stairs made him happy.
So, the kids and I left for the zoo. When we got there, parking was crazy! People were parked on the grass outside of the parking lot. There was a place with good parking spaces, but it cost $5 to get in there. If I had brought some cash, I would have gladly paid for those spots. However, as I was driving around, a truck was backing out of a spot fairly close to the gate. What luck! (On St. Patrick's Day, no less.)
We were able to just scoot on in with our membership pass, which was wonderful! Ellie had never been to the zoo before--which I'm sure surprises you all, right? I mean, how many 2 month old babies have been to the zoo before? *severe eye roll at my own expense* I think I got more photos of Ellie smiling in her stroller than I did of any animals. I got lots of pictures of the kids in the petting zoo area, though, so that offsets it. We did all the fun things that we wanted to: the children's petting area, the rainforest room, the elephant exhibit, and the koi pond. Everyone was pretty exhausted by the time 4:30 rolled around, so I said "Let's go to the Gift Shop and then go home." Apparently, that was everybody else's idea, too! I could barely get the kids in there, much less me and a stroller! I'm pretty sure the Fire Marshall would have had a cardiac in regards to the number of people in that store! We left without getting to look at very much.
I had to feed Ellie in the van before we left. The kids thought that was pretty neat. It was like camping, they said. We really need to show them what camping really is! Once Ellie's belly was full, we headed home. Where I knew there were 2 crusty dogs waiting for their baths. That was the first thing I did. Neither one of them appreciated it, but I really didn't care! It's not ideal for me to give them a bath 2 days in a row. Now I have to clean the tub out again!
On top of the zoo, bathing dogs and feeding babies, I have also been doing laundry and continuing my Spring Cleaning today. I need to get the vacuum out and go over the downstairs with it. As you can probably imagine, I'm tired. Hence, my rambling in this post instead of doing what I should. *sigh* I think I'll wait to vacuum until after the kids are in bed tonight. After all, they contribute to the mess almost as much as the dogs do!
I seem to think there is something else I did today that was noteworthy. And, no, my showering is not it, although I was so glad to be able to wash my hair!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)