Today, I chose to ask my husband for a very unusual Valentine's gift. Today, he and I joined forces and cleaned the house together. Together, we burned hundreds of calories vacuuming, dusting, scrubbing, sweeping, doing laundry, etc, etc, etc. We also eliminated several of the honey do list items that have been bugging me for months now. We bagged up all the old VHS tapes. We hung frames that had been laying around. We moved furniture.
I'd say we achieved quite a bit. Household chores, that would have taken me several days to accomplish, are pretty much complete now...except for a bit more laundry and remaking the beds. Sometimes I think every day is dedicated to some form of housework. Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining. It is, after all, a great way to burn calories. Lately, I'm all about the burn. But, it is rather frustrating when I mop the floor only to have someone walk in at the end of the day with muddy feet. I am not a maid. I am, as Rosanne Barr once put it, "A Domestic Goddess". : )
I did have a maid service. In fact, I've had four. Its become a bit of a joke now. I am notorious for my impatience with professional cleaning services. What can I say? I have high standards.
I fired the first service because they let our exclusively indoor cat out while they cleaned, then denied ever doing it. Our son rode around the neighborhood on his tricycle putting up signs for our missing kitty. We never saw her again.
I fired the second because they kept breaking things. Sure, they apologized, but some things cannot be replaced. Some things are priceless memories from our numerous military moves.
The third stayed with us until we relocated. I wish I had her here now. Edna was a retired Army First Sergeant, and she was extremely disciplined. She came every week, worked for a set price of $10 an hour, and always had a plan of attack when it came to cleaning. She became like part of the family. She convinced our little boy that cleaning was fun. She taught him how to dust and vacuum (nowadays, its not so easy). The day I was retired from the military, I was sad and alone. My family was thousands of miles away, and my husband was deployed to Iraq. Edna was the one who sat and comforted me. I would have never fired her.
The fourth maid service stayed with us for quite a while. They lost our business by not listening. I told them specifically when to come over. They came an hour early, walking in the house without warning and startling my stepson as he stepped out of the shower. One look at his face when I came home and I knew they had to go. They called me and apologized, asked if they could clean my refrigerator as a way of making amends. But I was angry. I told them to give me some time to cool off. I might ask them to come back one day. I guess others had issues too. Before I could change my mind, they went out of business.
I haven't decided if there will be a fifth. Right now, the best choice seems to be to clean the house ourselves. If I did hire another maid service, I would have less spending money, but I would have more time to myself. There are several pluses to doing it ourselves. First of all, I burn calories. Secondly, my husband gains a healthy respect for all I do for the family. And third, our son he has earned his "Family Life" merit badge in scouts. If I could just convince him that the chores he did for the merit badge are supposed to be things he does all the time.
Right now, I'm glad we've chosen not to have a maid service. And I'm glad I chose to ask my husband to do this with me as a loving Valentine gift, in lieu of a bouquet of flowers that would eventually shed pedals and leaves all over the kitchen (something else to clean). With all we did today, I think he appreciates what I do on a continuing basis. Though, it is good to remind him on occasion. Did I mention he is now asleep on the couch. Poor guy...guess all that manual labor wore him out. Me? The buzzer just went off. Time for me to fold clothes. I could wake him and ask him to help. No. I'll let him sleep. I wonder how many calories I'll burn folding laundry...Hey, what's the rule? It all counts, right?
I should note that he did give me a beautiful bouquet of fruit from "Edible Arrangements". I love these because they are really healthy and everyone can benefit (dark chocolate covered strawberries not pictured). And afterwards, we went out on a date.
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