I have dreams of having a clean house. That's all they are though: dreams. Having 5 children means that I usually don't have a clean home. I marvel at the sparkly homes of my friends, even those with multiple children. I wonder how they do it? Does it involve a lot of yelling? Bribing? Do these mothers work themselves to death in the wee hours of the morning? I haven't figured out the answer but I know that at about 8 pm I am done. I can't lift another finger. I need some quiet time to unwind, decompress from the day. When unexpected people come to visit, I hope they have no reason to just pop into my kitchen. Just stay in the entry way where it's not quite so bad.
When school is in session, I can do a reasonable job of keeping the house clean. Not great, but reasonable. There are no kids around to bother me or mess up what I have done. I don't have to answer the same question 40 times. ("The answer is still no.") But I seem to have so many things that keep me busy that cleaning the house is the lowest on the priority list. Good thing that The Cowboy doesn't really care, but then again, he doesn't actually see any dirt to clean up. It's a catch 22.
And then comes Saturday. The day all my dreams should come true. Every child has to do a variety of jobs before they are allowed loose on the world. There are bedrooms to clean, bathrooms to scrub, floors to vacuum. Things should be picked up, put away and the house should not be embarrassing if someone should happen to drop by. And sometimes things actually do get cleaned up, but never to my satisfaction.
And then it hits me, teaching my children to work and clean the house really has nothing to do with me having a clean home. It has everything to do with teaching them responsibility. In taking pride in a job well done. In learning to do the hard things first. I am always going behind, doing the "finishing," but I hope that I am moving forward in raising good kids. Even if I have to let some dreams go.
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