that one day when my house was clean
sinus infection fiesta 2013 struck our house with vengeance this past week. all three of us got it and, oh, we got it baaaaad.
for a solid week, i didn't do anything that wasn't absolutely necessary. that means no getting dressed, no laundry, no dishes, no cooking, no sweeping. i nursed luc and orlando and i ate whatever was easiest. we napped whenever luc napped, and orlando and i traded off taking care of luc in the afternoons so the other person could get an extra nap in. we watched two entire seasons of the office {all caught up!}.
that's it. i couldn't muster the energy to do anything else.
as one would expect, the house got MESSY while we were sick. the dirty laundry piled up and spilled over onto the floor. dirty dishes covered the countertops and the stove. the floors were dusty and crumby. the bathroom floor was covered in wadded up tissues. and that was just the beginning! of course, we were super sick so i didn't let myself feel guilty for letting it all go- sometimes these things happen, and it's ok, i told myself.
and that's true.
on monday, i finally started feeling better. better enough to get ready for the day, better enough to get out of the house for lunch + a target run, better enough to get up off the couch and play with luc. but you're not better enough to tackle this messy house! i told myself. save that for a day when you are feeling much, much better.
and save it i did.
yet, i found that the longer i waited to put my house in order, the longer that last little icky feeling lingered. i just couldn't get back to feeling 100% and it was driving me crazy. i'd much rather be really sick and then be done with it then feel a little sick for days and days on end. ugh, it was awful, and i was FED UP. finally, i woke up the other morning, determined to cross everything off my to-do list, live or die. i made my bed, tackled the laundry, washed the dishes, got ready, swept, dusted, and cleaned the bathroom- all before the time luc's late morning nap was over. i lit my candle and sat on the couch to survey my sparkling clean home- and suddenly realized i felt completely better. no more icky sicky feeling, no more headache- completely gone, just like the mess in my house. and i sat there thinking, no wonder heavenly father lists 'house of order, house of cleanliness' in his description of His house. in a clean home there is health and happiness and intelligence and freedom and true relaxation. in a mess, that's all a lot harder to find.
my house still isn't always clean, and there will definitely be times when it will all be completely neglected for a week or two. and that's ok.
i'm just going to try and remember what wonderful work it is to set it all right again, and breath the clean air.
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