I surrendered to my fate — for a couple of hours today. You see, I “survive” in a chaotic environment overrun by children — five active ones ages nine and under- to be specific. In my parallel fantasy world, I am an accomplished writer/author and business owner. However, reality has me in it’s tenacious grip as I struggle to juggle all of my hidden desires with my actual responsibilities - one of those being “housework.” No, it is not glamorous and I didn’t have to obtain a Master’s degree to study the “art of cleanliness” or intern for a prestigious Fortune 500 company to “learn the ropes” on how to execute the proper technique.
But, it must get done. And, my motto has always been “if you’re going to do something, do it well … and take pleasure in it.”
Getting Down and Dirty
With that in mind, I decided to unplug and go at it. With a background of rhythmic Latin tunes, I grooved into the laundry room and stocked my bucket with gloves, cleaning supplies, scrub-brushes, paper towels and rags. I wrapped my weathered blue bandanna around my forehead, pulled on my oldest t-shirt, torn jeans, flip-flops and threw myself into the task at hand.
On my hands and knees, I scrubbed every inch of the bathroom floors, the toilets and its’ accompanying porcelain structures, shower stalls, counter tops, sinks, you-name-it. I vacuumed, swept, mopped, hand-washed the delicates, disinfected the trash cans, should I go on?
Moral of the Story
Did I enjoy it? Yeah, I did. I immersed myself and was proud of the resulting stellar quality of my work.
Life as a CDO (Chief Domestic Officer) and mother of many youngsters is overwhelming and oftentimes physically and emotionally draining. Ironically, attacking (via intense cleaning)the very evidence of their messy existence was quite cathartic.
So, you ask, does this mean that I’ll forsake my private passions and permanently drape that Martha Stewart apron around my waist? Or will I pull on those rubber scrubbing gloves in resignation of the imminent nullification of self? Heck, no! It just means that when its time to go domestic, I’m going all the way. And, I’ll aim for excellence.
Tomorrow may be another story.
—————————-
Written by Darah Zeledon. Mother of five, freelance writer, small business owner, and fitness freak, Darah has just returned to the US after living 9 years with her large brood in South America. Through an angle of humor, Darah´s uniquely optimistic perspective of raising children in today’s unstable world has been strongly influenced by her experiences running a household and various businesses in several foreign lands. You can read more of her here and here.