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Moms, you would have loved me as a child. Even my earliest memories include picking up my toys and putting them away, each in their place. We moved into the house I picture when I think of home when I was 4 years old. For the first time, I had a room of my very own. I loved that bedroom like it was my own little kingdom. And that kingdom, by royal decree, was to be tidy.
I had my eye on other lands beyond the borders of my room. I loved my family but they irritated me growing up. My brother was a complete slob and my dad would come home from work leaving a trail of debris behind him for the rest of the night, expecting some magic elf to pick up in his wake. Well, as it turned out, I was that magic elf, much to his growing consternation and my mother's relief at finally getting some help with this family deal she had signed on to. By the time she and my father divorced, I was big enough to run the vacuum cleaner and the keys had officially been turned over to me. As my mother studied to obtain her Registered Nursing license, I was king, things were tidy and I loved it.
I'm certainly no germaphobe and I have never once worn Kleenex boxes as footwear. But I suppose some would have labeled me a borderline compulsive cleaner. There has always been something about visual chaos that has unnerved me. A messy house made me feel physically anxious.
Unwashed dishes in the sink were never found in my kitchen. My windows wherever I lived through the years were cleaned, inside and out, at least once every two months. Toilets were cleaned at least twice a week and the fridge and stove would be pulled out and cleaned under twice a year. Yep, my friends thought I was strange. The running joke was "Yes, it's clean, but is it Steven clean?"
If you would have asked the old Steven if he would be writing what I'm about to say, he would have called you a liar to your face. But the truth is, old Steven has dirty windows and two days worth of dishes sitting in his sink and I couldn't care less. It feels liberating, like I imagine taking a bra off might feel.
I can pinpoint accurately when the flip finally switched for me. It was when my mother died in the summer of 2006. As I mourned her, I lost interest in a lot of things for a while. The first to go was cleaning the damned house. I kept up, but cared way less. As time began to heal my wound, joy came back and it left the need to dust behind. Scrubbing grout with a toothbrush to make it pop seemed like a big waste of time and never again will I try to lift up a dryer to sweep out the lint.
Because we both have demanding jobs now and can afford the luxury, we hired our good friend Jane to come in and clean twice a month. She doesn't do everything like I would do it, but neither of us cares. More often than not, I get home from work just as she's wrapping up and break out a bottle of wine while enjoying the clean.
TOP MOJO
February 8, 2014
(excluding Tip Jars and first comments)
Got mik!
1) If I were a cynical person, I might suggest by PhilJD — 207
2) ....thus paving the way by greenbell — 150
3) It smells like good cop bad cop, doesn't it. by FishOutofWater — 117
4) Sick of it in Wisconsin by Puddytat — 111
5) HKonJ means by gulfgal98 — 107
6) The 50 state strategy by Puddytat — 99
7) Public shaming still works, it seems. Good. by zenbassoon — 82
8) Not to mention by Dallasdoc — 81
9) Proud of all that showed up...hope to make the by Phil S 33 — 77
10) Dem Conservatives Are Terrified of United Govern- by Gooserock — 75
11) Interesting take on this by Puddytat — 74
12) A 50 state Barber strategy sounds good to me. by NCJim — 72
13) Bill fell for it by Positronicus — 72
14) It should be apparent to you by now by Richard Lyon — 67
15) Every person I know is excited, especially those by catilinus — 64
16) No, human rights are NOT open to debate by ontheleftcoast — 62
17) Photos: by commonmass — 60
18) Report them as Phishing sites. by zenbassoon — 58
19) Blessed be, commonmass. Like I said elsewhere, by rubyr — 57
20) Most of your diary was whining by Dallasdoc — 57
21) I'm already sick of the Clinton machine by greenbell — 56
22) In his testimony to Congress... by KYrocky — 56
23) My brothers little girl died today . by indycam — 56
24) They're keeping their powder dry by RFK Lives — 56
25) NO COKE, PEPSI by JML9999 — 56
26) Their desperation is showing. by Horace Boothroyd III — 56
27) How would you like it if I posted a diary by JayRaye — 55
28) The PAC's abdication is complete and utter by Onomastic — 54
29) As I recall, Howard Dean held this position too .. by niemann — 54
30) Got one of those calls last month. by foresterbob — 52
31) As is the cravenness of Holder's DoJ. This is by nailbender — 52
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TOP PHOTOS
February 8, 2014
Enjoy jotter's wonderful PictureQuilt™ below. Just click on the picture and it will magically take you to the comment that features that photo. Have fun, Kossacks!
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