I basically grew up in what many would consider a “glass house.” From the age of 3 thru 13 my family was always in the process of selling the house we lived in and because of that our house was always in “show ready” condition. My father built and sold houses for a living. Building our beautiful homes and then selling them for a greater profit was one way he paid the bills. So all of us, my two siblings and my mom and I got used to living as clean freaks and eventually even though it was not a necessity for us to be that way, it was the only way we knew how to live.
When I got married and bought my own home with my husband Jeff and moved in with him and my step-son Weston who was 13 at the time, there were adjustments to be made to say the least. Weston and Jeff had been living as bachelors for over 4 years and neither of them were used to living as I had always lived in a home nor was I used to their casual, laid back ways either. To say it was a challenge for us all to get used to the other’s style is putting it mildly.
Moving forward about 4 ½ years, after much work on all of our parts we have found our own way of living and “normal.” Jeff got a lot better at helping me with the dishes, Weston flushes the toilet and learned how to clean a shower with a tooth brush and Mr. Clean eraser and I learned to calm down tremendously. However, sometimes, I now find myself not wanting to clean at all or caring. It is in those times that I find myself also feeling that way about my overall life.
I have noticed that the condition my house is in represents where I am at personally and as I took a look around at my friends and family, I have noticed the same to be true for them as well. When I’m feeling down or overwhelmed with life, my house can go weeks without a good cleaning and when it’s really bad, the dishes may not get put in the dish washer for over 24hrs. Not a big deal to some, but to the girl who normally can’t relax if there is even a dirty fork on the counter, that’s pretty major. My yard doesn’t get taken care of and I have even let some flowers die before because I just don’t care.
Part of why my parents always pushed us to be clean freaks was indeed because we had to based on our lifestyle. But a good portion of them doing this was to teach us to take pride in our home and our property. They always said it was also a reflection in having pride for yourself and how hard you worked to get that property, no matter how big or small it might be. As I get older, I am thankful to Weston for teaching me to calm down a bit and let a kid be a kid. But I am also very thankful that I still stand firm in taking pride in my home. And when life gets overwhelming or I’m down in the dumps my dirty home is a reminder that I need to snap out of it and not only clean up my home but also to clean up my mind and spirit a bit too.
I cleaned my house this weekend because I wanted to start off Monday on a good note, not having the thought of “needing to clean my house” nagging in my mind. I want to have a fresh mind and spirit and enter a week feeling respectful of myself and ready to conquer whatever the world throws at me. Amazingly, I woke up this morning feeling exactly that way, fresh and ready to go with a "can do anything" attitude. I think we all need to just suck it up and "clean house" sometimes in more ways than one so we can start anew. Its amazing how the world opens up to us when we do.
Shine on!
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