June Cleaver from Leave it to Beaver was able to maintain a clean home. Of course, she was a stay-at-home mom/housewife. Then there's Claire Huxtable. Hard-working, full-time lawyer and mom of five kids who is able to keep her house in order and well-mannered children that grew up to all be successful. I would ask, how did she do that? Is that reality? I find myself trying to live up to that expectation being a hard-working, full-time mom of 3 with a husband who travels at times throughout the year. When the kids were babies, life was a little simpler in keeping rooms cleaned as they were not mobile and you could keep them in one room. As they get older (mostly toddler through elementary years), they are EVERYWHERE. Mystery turds are left in toilets unflushed. Pee on the seat from little boys trying to dance or look elsewhere when they are going potty. Tiny toys scattered over all the floors in perfect spots for my bare foot to step on. Papers loaded on the kitchen counter from unloaded backpacks. I often wonder "how much paper are schools using these days", yet I hate to throw their hard work away.
I struggle with the idea of hiring a housekeeper. Does it mean I'm less of a woman if I get one? The main person I would trust would be my mom but whenever I ask, she says "you should be able to clean your own house up as I had to do mine". Am I being punished for working hard and trying to maintain? Is it wrong to ask for help?
Last weekend was the first weekend I had to myself in seven years, where my husband was out of town and kids were over their grandparents house. I didn't know what to do with myself so I spent the entire time cleaning rooms top to bottom, organizing my guestroom/craft room, and making sure all the clothes were put away after being washed. When the kids returned, I felt like I had to follow their every step and pick something up off the floor in order to maintain my weekend's work. By the end of the week, toys were on the floor in every room. The kitchen was a disaster area. The living room had hidden discoveries of Hi-C juice boxes and Girl Scout cookie crumbs from sneaky, undercover eating in that room. And in the kids' rooms, clean AND dirty clothes were on the floor as the boys have a tendency to go to their dresser when they get out of the shower and review their options for underwear and pajamas. They typically take whatever is in their way in the drawer and put it on the floor. Sigh. Looking forward to next weekend. Does anyone else experience this?
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