Ahhhhhhhh....silence. Everyone in the house is either out or in bed except for me so I'm relishing the quiet. As the mom of a non-stop talking 4 year old (naps and bedtime are a wonderful thing!), I seldom have the luxury to be alone with my thoughts! But, I know that one day, I'll be longing for those interruptions so I savor the silence now when I can. :o)
Yesterday, I ruined Krista's grand plans of doing nothing and taking a break for the day. Jacob was out so I didn't want to lose the opportunity to clean the entire house in one day! I made three list---Krista was in charge of vacuuming and mopping, putting away her's and Michael's laundry, cleaning up the game cabinet tabletop, clearing her computer desk in the office, changing her bed sheets and straightening up her room. Michael was in charge of emptying all the trash cans and putting in new liners, dusting, removing all the rugs and bringing them upstairs to the laundry room and cleaning all the doorknobs and light switches with Lysol wipes. I took care of scrubbing down the kitchen and clearing all the counter tops, cleaning all the bathrooms (don't even ask me when was the last time I did a deep clean on them), doing the laundry (comforters, bedsheets, whites, darks and towels seem to be breeding these days) and cleaning out and organizing the hall closet.
I enjoy cleaning because it's therapeutic (only when I can do it within my time table which is all in one sitting without interruptions!!!) and the results are instantaneous! I started taking out all the school supplies out the closet and then I had to stop to do more laundry, answer Michael's questions and then supervise him while he was dusting and cleaning the door knobs and switches. I returned to the closet to throw out art supplies (I'm so done with modeling clay that doesn't harden!) and finished organizing the shelves when it was time to stop and fix lunch (I had forgotten about it until Michael said he needed food!). I got back in the closet to remove all the empty boxes that have been stored there for who knows how long (we're prepared for a worldwide box famine disaster) and then had to stop and give Michael his bath and throw in another load of laundry. After cleaning him, I let him play in his little bathtub while I ran downstairs to continue organizing the closet. I was barely tossing things out of the closet when Michael was finished playing in the tub (Whhhhhat?!? I was expecting him in there longer!).
Can I be honest here? By now, I was ready to scream in frustration!!! All I wanted to do was finish cleaning and organizing that little closet and it was taking me so long to finish my task because I had to be a mother!!! All I wanted to be was just. the. maid. and do everything on my list in one swoop.
It's the world's smallest closet packed with a gazillion and one things and it took me so long just to do one task at a time in it. Sigh. I ran back upstairs and got Michael out of the bathtub and dried, creamed and dressed, told him to play and not ask me any more questions while I finished folding the laundry, started another load and then ran back downstairs to continue clearing out the closet. By the time it was Michael's nap time, I had to apologize for being so cranky with him. I told him I couldn't be the mommy today because I had to be the maid and that meant he needed to let me do my cleaning job and not require help with his Lego project or ask me all his questions. He solemnly forgave me after telling me I hurt his feelings (this always happens when I tell him to please stop talking which is probably like asking him not to breathe). Now, I've probably scarred him for life...all because I lost sight of what really matters in life.
I felt so horrible. My type A personality has a way of rearing up its ugly head when it comes to my expectations of fulfilling my lists. And now, the hall closet is a visible reminder of how easy it is to get derailed of my calling as a mother. Thank God for forgiving children and a new day! we try to keep Sundays as our Sabbath days where we focus more on "rest" and less on "work." Sometimes we eat out, go out or just hang out. Today was a combination of all three. Michael and I built a motorcycle from his Lego kit and we spent the afternoon just hanging out and relaxing in our freshly cleaned house!
Tomorrow, I will finish washing the comforters and then work on Krista's competition dress. I love the outcome of the finished product but gluing the crystals on is not on my list of favorite things to do with my time! (Probably because it takes up so much of my time...!) But for today, I will just rest by reading in leisure!
In Exodus 20:8, the Amplified Bible puts it this way, "[Earnestly] remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (withdrawn from common employment and dedicated to God)."
And that's why we worked like crazy yesterday so today would be different.
