Keeping a clean house has never been my forté. If I’m honest, I struggled with the motivation to do it even before I had kids. If I’m BRUTALLY honest, I’ve found it somewhat defeating after having kids. I’ve been through many stages in my 13 years of parenting, from trying really HARD to keep the house clean, to barely caring, to putting cleaning on a schedule, and the results always end up the same: messy 5 minutes after I’m done cleaning.
Like I said, defeating.
In the past couple of years, as my oldest has gotten, well…OLD (he’s a teen now!), I’ve tried to really not put pressure on myself as far as house work goes. As I sit here and write. my dining room table is littered with the signs that five people live in this house…and that’s ok with me. So, when I read this Facebook post by mom of five Diane Redlegs just a few minutes ago, I knew I had to share it with you. It was like a huge truth bomb went off right in front of me as I read her words. They were a gift from God to me, and hammered home such an important point! Diane’s words are so sweet, they don’t need any more explanation. She posted a picture of her perfectly vacuumed floor and said:
Photo: Diane Redlegs on Facebook
19 years ago, Scott, all 5 kids and I took a trip to Omaha. Kenny was 10, Todd was 8, Kevin 5, Ryan 2, and Lisa was 6 months old. We took a day and went over to visit Scott’s Aunt and Uncle who lived in Omaha, in their beautiful new home. When we pulled up, the exterior said to me, “this is what dreams are made of”. As his Aunt gave us a tour of their home, I just remember thinking how amazing it would be to have such a beautiful home, full of rooms and bathrooms and a huge kitchen that screamed to be full of family and fun, but what stuck out the most in my mind and sparked a completely different envy than just the size of the house, was the vacuum lines that remained in the carpet in the formal dining room. As we strolled into the dining room, I remember thinking to myself, “oh my gosh! Her vacuum lines are still in her carpet probably a week or more after she vacuumed!! What I wouldn’t give to clean my house and have it stay magazine perfect for more than 5 minutes!!” I couldn’t wait for the day that I would be able to do that and not have it messed up by sticky little finger prints on the perfectly waxed dining table, or Legos hiding under the table, or walking in to discover Ryan’s latest art creation had so carefully been designed on the wall with crayons.
