Friday, August 15, 2008

A Relaxing Night Alone (Almost), Gone, and My House is a Mess

Trevor took Berit down to Greenville for the night, so he could attend a concert with the men in my family and my mom could get her Berit fix. That left me home alone with Marta, who is needy but not really messy, takes three to four naps a day, doesn't require cooking and, the best part about this whole thing, goes back to sleep soon after waking in the morning, meaning tomorrow I can sleep in until, like, 9 if I play my cards right. 

Except. The real estate office called, and we have a showing tomorrow. No interest in our house whatsoever for two months, yet I get one night and two days to myself and now I'm faced with the not-so-happy reality that my house is, in its fairly clean state, trashed. As in, boxes with garage sale leftovers hanging around the laundry room, baskets and baskets of laundry to put away, toys shoved in every possible nook, kitchen countertop full of various fruits on trays and boxes too oddly-shaped for the pantry, deck with toys, garage with toys, yard with dog poop, etc. Aside, of course, from the general bathrooms/wood floors/carpets that all need cleaning because that's what's expected from a normal, sanitary household. 

I didn't, didn't, didn't want to admit to Trevor (on the phone, lounging on my parents' deck) that I needed a hand cleaning it all before the morning, but really I do. I mean, I feel like a person should be able to clean her own house, or you don't buy that house, or you don't buy all the junk to muck it up inside the house. It's not really that I need help cleaning the house. I just need someone to hold the baby so I can clean the house. So I'm wondering: Do other moms live this way, too, or would all of my friends be able to whip it into shape before morning, baby on hip? Do they keep things constantly clean, always on top of it, or do they live in a messy house most of the time? 

In the end I called my mother-in-law and asked if she'd come take Marta on a walk in the morning. Overly generous soul that she is, she said she'd be here first thing in the morning and she'd bring my father-in-law, who'd take care of the yard for me. Wonderful, I know, but embarrassing and more than a little ridiculous, I think, that I called them. Any thoughts? Truth, please.

2 comments:

Candace said...

I though 2 days home during the week and only working 3 days would enable me to have the perfect sterile home for my baby to crawls around in--yeah right. Ryan asked me the other day when he came home from work (very carefully I might add) what we did all day...

Liza said...

who ever associated cleaniness with godliness or good parenting?? In my experience, I find that the messier your home, the more time you are able to spend enjoying the kids. And for Pete's sake, these little ones are like hurricanes. Cleaning and laundry are daunting tasks. We work like mad to do it all at the end of the day and who sees it? Because in just a few short hours the little critters muck it all up again! Enjoy your time with the girls they'll be heading off to school in the blink of an eye and then you might just have a second or two to clean up after them!