Sunday, January 18, 2009

Blessings and Joy

I used to clean house on Saturdays. I mean really clean. Then I became a mom and a teacher, and somehow, on Saturdays, cleaning became the farthest thing from my mind... which makes me feel guilty. My husband will go into his office for half the day on Saturday, then come home to find me -- blogging, or reading, or scrapblogging. After my busy week, I seem to just collapse on Saturday.

Until this past Saturday.

I cleaned.

And I found joy in it.

With my iPod playing in my ears, I listened to a song and was reminded of the wonderful life I have. I remembered to count my blessings. And I fully embraced the joy that was in my life at that very moment. Even though my week had been busy, stressful, and tiring.

You see, I had an epiphany of sorts. I was reminded of how wonderful my husband is, and how he probably changed my life more than I know. Together, we've created a home for our family. A home that deserves to be cleaned and scrubbed and shined.

This is not some "gotta have it cleaned up" perfection issue. It's just a simple act of caring for one's home. And when the floors and countertops shine, when the clothes are all clean and put away, when a fire is crackling, and the lamps cast a soft glow, I feel it.
And it's Joy!
Postscript: (Okay. Who did it? I woke up the day after writing this and found my house in a mess again. How, exactly, did that happen?!)

5 comments:

Mummy McTavish said...

Wasn't me!!!

But I'm guessing you've already heard that one?

That is my biggest frustration with cleaning, it's undone in 10 minutes.

When I clean I try to think about how happy it makes my husband to have a clean house. It does make it slightly more pleasent.

miruspeg said...

Your word JOY really is working for you Roban.
It is a wonderful feeling when the realisation hits home of all the blessing we have in our life.

I believe the "gremlins" are in your area at the moment and decided to have some fun at your house!

Hugs
Peggy

carrhop said...

Finding joy in the daily...

Love it!

(I should be super-joyful, given the amount of cleaning that needs to be done around here...)

Blessings!

Caroline said...

Isn't that just the best! I love the way the house feels (and me too) when everything is really clean.

Carrie and Jim said...

I have struggled with this same issue as I am sure most mothers/wives. I really wish I could keep my sttitude in check and my life would go smoother. Thanks for the inspiration to look at life from a different perspective. We all need to clean and there is no way around that truth!