Clean
Sunday is laundry day. If I don’t have a specific day set aside for this chore, it might never get done. I refrain from doing laundry during the week, because it’s better if someone else is here to distract the kids while I carefully fold and hang articles away.
It’s a nice thought, I suppose. One that is rarely seen to fruition thanks to a certain 3 year old.
He watches as I carry in a load of freshly cleaned clothes, scented with floral fabric softener. His face brightens as he anticipates what’s to come. Down his body falls on the mattress, legs dangling over the edge, his smile like a target. I hesitate, knowing the mess he’ll make. He looks so hopeful, though. I bury him in still warm material, his laughter contagious. From clean socks and underwear, he peeks out a thankful, happy eye.
Sure enough, he arises out of the pile with a burst: dress shirts in one corner, pants on the floor. It’s a game he can’t get enough of. The obsessive compulsive in me, envisioning smudges and wrinkles and even more work, is urging him to stop. But I resist.
Wrinkles are temporary.
In a former life, I was proud to have an ordered house. It’s safe to say, clean isn’t what it used to be. Drawers are overstuffed, crumbs magically multiply, toys are everywhere, laundry is never carefully folded. It’s a version that I’m still learning to accept, to enjoy. I’m not there yet, but it’s getting better.
4 Responses
Wrinkles are temporary.
I’m trying to remember this when my son “helps” me with chores. Everything takes twice as long now…but at the same time, he takes such joy in “helping” that I can’t allow myself to get worked up about it.
Deep breathing helps, too, especially when he’s “helping” unload the dishwasher, and licks each and every spoon before dropping them into the silverware drawer in a tangled pile.
Crystal @ Semi-Crunchy Mama´s latest blog post: Shaken to my core
I don’t know how you do it all on the weekend. I find, with only ONE kid, that if I don’t wash and dry laundry several times a week, I have time to do NOTHING else on the weekends! I don’t put it away while she’s awake – I do that after she’s in bed at night. (Though not her clothes, of course. I’m not crazy enough to walk into her room to put away clothes while she sleeps! hehe!)
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@christy, Only one of us leaves the house on a regular basis, so the rest of us kind of stay in our pajamas all day. heh. Once school and all that comes into play, I may have to adjust my schedule.
I know, the whole kids helping you do chores thing makes it so much harder around my house. I tend to skip the “help” and just give them set things to do.
Great post!