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Thursday, May 05, 2005
this ought to say "Hallmark" on the back
Last night at Bible study, one of the women approached me and said that as a gift for me after The Event I Swore I Would Not Mention Again, she was going to come over and clean my house for me (she cleans houses for a living). What I wanted to say was "oh, like h*** am I ever going to let a casual friend anywhere NEAR the dirty parts of my house." However, when someone offers you a gift, you're supposed to smile politely and say 'thank you', and then only write the above sentence in your online journal (I think that's what Emily Post says about it), so that's what I did. Am doing. She's coming over at 2:30 today. And my mom is coming over from 1:00 to 2:00 to help me clean in advance of the arrival of the cleaning lady. Now there's one particular cliché I never thought I'd be living out.
Seriously, there are some household things I'm not supposed to be doing yet -- floors, and scrubbing the bathtub -- which really do need to be done pretty badly. But there is a megaton of STUFF that needs to get put away first, and that's what Mom's going to help me with. What a mom. She gives birth to me, lavishes me with love and affection and creative ideas for fun for my entire childhood, puts up with my regrettable attitude during my teenaged years, offers herself on the altar of free babysitting as soon as I provide her with a grandchild, and then, to top it off, comes over on her lunch break to help me clean my house even though I'm thirty years old and really, if I haven't got the discipline to clean my own house, that ought to be my own problem. Wow. This is the stuff of shiny embossed pastel fancy-script $4.50 Mother's Day cards if ever I saw it.
Now you'll have to excuse me; I'd love to write a nice thoughtful post about the parallels between "cleaning for the cleaning lady" and our Christian walk, but I'd better get to work; my mom will be here in three hours and this place is A MESS.
Comments
LMBO! That certainly is not a cliche I'd be living out either. You made me really laugh, thank you! I need to de-clutter cause this 750 sq ft house is closing in quickly. Hope all goes well and what a treat, really to have it cleaned by someone else!
Posted by: Sher at May 5, 2005 10:53 AM
It takes courage to let another person see the "dirty" parts of your house. I mean, I'm sure she's seen it all, since she cleans homes for a living (and surely not *everyone* cleans for their cleaning lady...?), but still!
Also-- What a great mom! It's amazing, the things they do for us...
Posted by: Michael at May 5, 2005 12:07 PM
LOL. Cute post, Rachel. I'd do the same, if it were me.
Posted by: laura at May 5, 2005 03:08 PM
The best part is definitely that your mom came to clean BEFORE the cleaning lady came. Classic.
Posted by: Kristen at May 5, 2005 09:36 PM
You are soooo funny, Rachel. And so sweet, too. I mean, I'm sure you were embarrassed by having someone see how messy you are (Which isn't all that uncommon, we're all pretty bad, I think); but I know you also didn't want to make someone work that hard for YOU. You'll do everything for everyone, but God forbid you let someone lift a finger for you. Your mom rules, as do mom's in general. I'm sure she was happy to help. That's what being a mom is all about, right? I mean, just because you turn thirty doesn't mean she's no longer your mommy.
Posted by: jenn at May 5, 2005 10:22 PM
