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06-22-2001 @ midnight
Life Is Good

My house is clean. Really clean. I started at about 11am with the intention of just giving it a little tidying because my sister was coming for the weekend and I ended up cleaning and doing laundry for the entire day.

It started innocently enough. I pulled out the pop-up wipes to give a once-over to Joey's bathroom and found a small Phillips head screwdriver on the counter. I thought, "huh, what's that about?" and then I looked at the faucet and noticed all the hard water deposits that had collected under the knobs. I looked at the screwdriver, looked back at the knobs and an idea came to me. "Hey," I thought, "I can use this here screwdriver to take them knobs off and clean up that gunk." And so I did. Then I did the same thing to the kitchen faucets. And from there it just kept going. Once I was in the mode of looking for things to clean, I found all kinds of stuff that I normally don't notice.

I did the usual stuff--cleaned the shower, toilets, sinks, swept, vaccuumed, dusted, washed and folded laundry. Then I started with the other stuff--I found homes for new acquisitions that have been sitting on my kitchen counter for weeks (like my new pasta machine), rearranged some cupboards so I could fit things in, scrubbed the places where dust and oil accumulate in the kitchen--on the canisters and bottles of oil and vinegar that I have out, on the knife block, on the baseboard, on the top of the microwave, etc. I put orange oil on my cupboard fronts then on all the windowsills and bathroom cupboards. Then I decided to strip the beds in every room and wash the sheets. While I was doing that, I noticed that my room was a little messy so I put things away that were just sitting around. Lastly, I decided to wash the windows. I washed all the windows in the living room, office, dining room, family room, kitchen and my bedroom. Then I washed the outside of the windows on the front and back of the house--the ones I could reach by standing on a chair.

By 9:30, I was done. I had cleaned for about 10 hours, taking only a short break for lunch and a short break for dinner. I felt so productive. It was cathartic. Purgative. Cleansing.

I listened to the new REM CD today--it's pretty good--and the Moulin Rouge CD while I cleaned. I really *loved* listening to the Moulin Rouge CD. It was like reliving the movie while I listened to it. And their version of Lady Marmalade is really fabulous.

I came up with a reading motivation program for Joey. I told her that for every 10 books she reads, I'll take her to the bookstore to get a new book. She was so excited about that idea that she read 10 books in 2 days. She is just learning how to read to herself--without even moving her lips. I ask her about the book after she reads it so I can judge her comprehension and she gives me very detailed synopses so I know she's reading it and she's understanding it. She asked if I would do this until she's a teenager and I said I would. If she wants to read and be rewarded for reading with new things to read, I have no problem with that. I did stipulate that the books have to have some substance to them--she can't just whiz through picture books with 2 or 3 lines per page. And at the bookstore, she can't choose "TV books" (Pokemon, Digimon). Actually, I don't mind other TV/book crossovers, like Scooby Doo books or Little Bill or Franklin. I just hate Pokemon and Digimon and she has quite a few of those books already. So now she's dragging books to read every time we drive in the car and at night and anytime she can't think of anything else to do. I love it!

While I was cleaning, I had a lot of time to think and what I thought about was how utterly content I feel right now. I decided that that's why I'm having a hard time getting worked up about things in the world. I'm just at a really comfortable and pleasant place in my life right now. I have a great husband and we're very sympatico right now. I was thinking about someone I know who complains about her husband a lot and realized that I didn't really have much to complain about with Ed right now. We seem to be in a good groove--he's taking care of his stuff (the lawn, the dishes, being a dad, the garage, working, etc.), I'm taking care of my stuff (being a mom, cleaning the house, the food, the family social schedule, playing) and neither of us is slacking or making it difficult for the other one. We're in a good sync physically--we're both tremendously satisfied with our sex life and our general expressions of affecton. We have plenty to talk about and in fact, I've noticed lately that Ed has been chattier than usual, which I really enjoy. There's no nagging going on, no angry words. I can't remember the last time we had an argument.

We have sufficient money for all our needs and most of our wants. The cars run well. No one is seriously ill. We're healthy. We have great friends and lots of social opportunities. We have 2 months together this summer (he'll be on sabbatical for 8 weeks) with big vacations and activities planned. Joey's anxieties are lessening and her anger/disappointment management is working well. I've decided what to do about school and I'm writing writing writing. And now my house is sparkly and new looking. Life is good. Life is very good.

--L

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