Our "perfect" house

I am not a perfect housekeeper.  Not even close.  Now, don't get me wrong...my house is not a cyclone.  Well, not ALL the time.  It's clean, it's tidy, it's "kinda" organized...but not perfect.  I am confident enough that if I had an unexpected knock at the door that my guest would not think my house was a complete mess.  You can usually find one or two baskets full of clean laundry sitting around waiting to be folded and put away.  I don't dry the dishes and put them away right after washing them, I let them sit in the strainer until there is not a drop of water on them (or until I need to wash more dishes).  I should mop the floors more often and dust the bookshelf.  I don't make my bed every single day (gasp)!  There are a lot of times that I don't make the children's put away their crayons and coloring books before starting to play with their train set.  There are nights we even go to sleep with the train set pieces still strewn all over my sons rug. (double-gasp)!  So....you sorta get the picture of our everyday world.  

But this weekend, we were having company.  Well, it's not really "company" per se.  My mother-in-law is coming.  We love when she visits !  When both of my inlaws come together, they stay in a hotel.  When she comes by herself, she stays with us and sleeps in my daughter's room.  This, of course, means that she needs to actually SEE my daughter's bed in order to sleep in it.  Of course, we had to clean.  Clean, as in "better than usual clean".   Honestly, she could care less what the house looks like - she just wants to see her grandchildren.  But you ALL know how it is.  Someone comes to stay at your house and you feel the need to clean behind the toilet !

We had a busy week but we tried to keep our normal schedule the first half of the days and then do some extra cleaning and chores during the afternoons if possible.   Everything got cleaned, pretty well.  But I started to get crazy.  I would get the kitchen looking perfect - and then my children would ask me to bake something with them.  I would have to clean it all over again from top to bottom.  I would vacuum every speck of dirt off the floor and we would go work in the garden (only to trek even more dirt back in).  Wash, Rinse, Repeat.  I kept looking at things from a different perspective.  "That looked PERFECT an hour ago and now it's atrocious" !  Then came Friday - "crunch day".  Last ditch effort to get it right.

My kids spent the morning with Popou (my dad) and their cousins because I had errands and a pitching lesson to give.  By the time we got home around midday, I had the afternoon to get it all done before it was time to get them to bed.  (No cleaning or other somewhat noisy activities in this small house after bedtimes with our light sleepers).  I thought about locking the kids in the bathroom so I could conquer one room at a time...but instead I just barked and yelled orders.  "Don't take out any toys".  "How many books are you going to take out".  "Can you just sit and rest a bit". "Don't take out any snacks, you'll make crumbs". "No crafts today".  "Watch me from the window while I garden because I don't need another single thing to clean and wash" "I cannot play that with you until this house is ALL clean"  "No, no, no"....

Jump to the end of the day -  My house was clean.  All of the laundry was done, sheets all changed, bathrooms scrubbed and disinfected, dishes clean and dried, toys all in proper places, every crayon and colored pencil in it's proper section, shelves were dusted, garden was watered and weeded, furniture dusted, floors vacuumed...etc.   Whew !

When I snuggled with my two little munchkins at the very end of the night to go to sleep...my little man leaned on my chest with a great big hug and said "I love you mama".  Now, he says he loves me a million times a day and gives lots of hugs.  But last night, it made me cry.  It was more like "I missed you all day Mama and I'm so glad you're back".  Of course, that could be my pitiful, guilty translation of his affection...but that's how I was feeling too.

Yesterday, we didn't sit on the couch together and read any books.  We didn't play house.  We didn't do any crafts together.  I didn't take them out WITH me to do the gardening.  We didn't go to the Y or for a run.  We didn't cook together. We didn't even eat together at the table.  We didn't draw or color together.  We didn't build anything or play cars and trains.  We didn't talk much about anything. We didn't learn anything together.  We didn't dance and sing like we do every afternoon.   We didn't do much of anything.  It was a yucky day....but at least my house was clean.  

My grandmother gave my mom a cute little plaque that hung in our dining room in the house where I grew up:

"This house is clean enough to be healthy...

But messy enough to be happy".  

I used to laugh at this really because my mother has had an immaculate house for as long as I can remember.  But today I remembered this little plaque for the first time in many years.  (Maybe our house was so clean for as long as I can REMEMBER..but maybe not so clean for my younger toddler years...hmmm?) I just can't imagine that I am the ONLY mother of young children that finds it hard to keep a perfect-looking house, while at the same time nurturing my children and being a part of their day.  Am I ?  (Please, DON'T leave a comment indicating that I am).

I might not be the most perfect housekeeper...but I know that I am doing my best to balance it all and more importantly to be the best mother and wife that I can be right NOW.  Maybe there will come a time in the not-so-distant future that I will be able to fold the laundry as soon as I take it out of the dryer without being interrupted by things like:   "Mama, can you read me this book first"?  or "Can you help me make this beaded bracelet" or "How do you spell Demetri's name so I can make him a surprise"?  

Maybe one day I won't hear those interruptions and I can get everything done in a very expeditious and efficient manner.  Maybe one day my house will look perfect....but God-willing, that won't be anytime soon.  I think our house is just perfect the way it is right now.