Once upon a time and long, long ago, there lived a grown woman with a spotless house who made delicious and creative dinners. She dedicated time and energy toward her job. In her spare time, she planned exciting vacations, which she paid for with her extra money.
It all seems like a fairy tale about a far away dream land. I've only been a mother for five months and already my reality has been shocked into a world of sleeplessness, multi-tasking and guilt at not being able to do it all. Right now, as I type this with one hand, I am pumping breast milk, planning dinner in my head and feeling guilty that I'm not doing something more productive like cleaning the bathroom. Thank goodness I don't have one of those fancy breast pumps that lets you walk around hands free, or I'd be cleaning the bathroom right now!
In the old days, I would get up on Saturday morning and clean the house. A few hours later, the house would be "clean" and I would be free to do whatever I wanted for the remainder of the weekend. Yesterday, I announced to my husband that there is no longer a such thing as "clean." It's just a Neverending To-Do List that must be accomplished during those rare moments when Cutie Pie is sleeping or happily enjoying the attention of someone else. The very act of cleaning creates its own chaos which must also be cleaned! I wish we could afford a maid. But then I'd have to clean for that too.
Right now, on my Neverending To-Do List is Spring Cleaning. I've got a day of dusting, window washing and closet cleaning ahead of me. I've got those high plant shelves in my house. You know, the shelves that are way up next to the ceiling? I have absolutely no idea why builders think these are a good idea. You have to buy all kinds of junk to put up there so they look nice but it can't be stuff you might actually want to use because it's too high up. Then you have to get up on a ladder to put things up there. I used to ignore it because it we don't use any of the decorative junk up there. Besides, it's so high you can't even tell if there's a little dust. But after time, it must have built up because every now and then a ball of dust will come rolling off the shelf and into my otherwise clean house. It's particularly embarrassing when we have guests over. So today, I will be dragging the ladder around my house and pushing dust off the shelves and onto my floor. I've tried to use a vacuum to dust up there but it's too big and difficult to reach the ceiling. Since there will be dust balls flying about, I've had to take Cutie Pie to school today. He's already got a stuffy nose and I don't want him to have to breathe dust in the house.
It may seem like I am complaining about Spring Cleaning but really I am a little excited about working on a project at home alone. I just wish the house would stay clean when I am finished. Alas, each task I accomplish today will just fall back to the bottom of the Neverending To-Do List.
It all seems like a fairy tale about a far away dream land. I've only been a mother for five months and already my reality has been shocked into a world of sleeplessness, multi-tasking and guilt at not being able to do it all. Right now, as I type this with one hand, I am pumping breast milk, planning dinner in my head and feeling guilty that I'm not doing something more productive like cleaning the bathroom. Thank goodness I don't have one of those fancy breast pumps that lets you walk around hands free, or I'd be cleaning the bathroom right now!
In the old days, I would get up on Saturday morning and clean the house. A few hours later, the house would be "clean" and I would be free to do whatever I wanted for the remainder of the weekend. Yesterday, I announced to my husband that there is no longer a such thing as "clean." It's just a Neverending To-Do List that must be accomplished during those rare moments when Cutie Pie is sleeping or happily enjoying the attention of someone else. The very act of cleaning creates its own chaos which must also be cleaned! I wish we could afford a maid. But then I'd have to clean for that too.
Right now, on my Neverending To-Do List is Spring Cleaning. I've got a day of dusting, window washing and closet cleaning ahead of me. I've got those high plant shelves in my house. You know, the shelves that are way up next to the ceiling? I have absolutely no idea why builders think these are a good idea. You have to buy all kinds of junk to put up there so they look nice but it can't be stuff you might actually want to use because it's too high up. Then you have to get up on a ladder to put things up there. I used to ignore it because it we don't use any of the decorative junk up there. Besides, it's so high you can't even tell if there's a little dust. But after time, it must have built up because every now and then a ball of dust will come rolling off the shelf and into my otherwise clean house. It's particularly embarrassing when we have guests over. So today, I will be dragging the ladder around my house and pushing dust off the shelves and onto my floor. I've tried to use a vacuum to dust up there but it's too big and difficult to reach the ceiling. Since there will be dust balls flying about, I've had to take Cutie Pie to school today. He's already got a stuffy nose and I don't want him to have to breathe dust in the house.
It may seem like I am complaining about Spring Cleaning but really I am a little excited about working on a project at home alone. I just wish the house would stay clean when I am finished. Alas, each task I accomplish today will just fall back to the bottom of the Neverending To-Do List.
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