Spring Cleaning

The Best Nest

Cassie on the swingset

Lacey on the swingset

A Twilight Walk in the Woods

It's once again that time of year when the world is experiencing a rebirth and I instinctively want my house to be part of that wondrous process. I get up around 5:00 a.m. on a Saturday, convinced that this will be the day  I whisk from the basement,through the main floor and upstairs, sorting, donating, vacuuming, scrubbing, dusting and otherwise beautifying. At the end of the day, my home will look like something from a magazine and we'll be relaxing together reading bedtime stories while my newly laundered curtains are flapping gently in the soft breeze of a a sparkling clean, open window. If this were a sitcom, you'd be hearing the canned laughter right about now.

So, yesterday was one of those days. I trudged down to the basement and began sorting through scraps of fabric, old patterns, craft magazines, seasonal decorations and outgrown clothing. Then, as the house gradually came to life, I was greeted by Cassie pointing out that the linens in the "donate pile" really weren't that old, and there was the stuffed animal that she'd been searching for and why was I getting rid of those clothes, even though they're a size 4 and too small for both girls? Daily needs of breakfast, Taekwondo class, grocery shopping and lunch consumed the next few hours. After lunch, I went downstairs to try again.The girls wanted to help.  I suggested that tidying their bedrooms would really make me happy.  Cassie stomped off mumbling that maybe she'd summon "Lady Alice," the matriarch of her dollhouse family, to help.  Lacey followed on her heels.  Later, I went to check on their progress.  Lacey had managed to stuff her clean underwear under the bed.  Maybe there was some linguistic interference here - "under" wear goes "under" the bed?  Cassie had managed to push a few piles across the floor.  Well, they were trying.  I headed back downstairs.

In a flash, it was time to begin dinner.  I realized that I hadn't yet done a single load of laundry.  And, I was still working on the basement.  After dinner, I went to inspect Cassie's room.  I questioned why there were still clothes strewn across the floor.  She explained that she was trying to decide what to pack for our upcoming trip.  What about the books on the floor?  Well, apparently she was trying to decide what books to pack.  And, why are those dolls in the middle of the floor.  It seems that they were playing and just fell asleep there!  

I tried the, "I love you very much but I can't do everything" speech.  Cassie replied that she'd finish cleaning tomorrow.  I next explained that I'd been waiting for the past couple weekends for her to get the bedroom cleaned and I was getting a little tired of waiting.  Ohhh.  She promised she'd like for sure get it done tomorrow!  I reminded her that she had made the same promise last weekend.  I then tried another clever tactic, otherwise known as bribery.  I said that if she got the room clean, we would go to see the movie about the Easter Rabbit that the girls have been anxiously awaiting.  Cassie thought that it would be better to wait and buy the DVD.  Then, we could watch it over and over again!  I was still one step ahead of her.  I sat her down and reminded her that in a few years,she'd be a teenager.  At that time, she'd probably want to be spending a lot of time with her friends, away from the house.  Wouldn't she want me to trust her then?  A surprised gulp and a nod.  Well, if the promise to clean gets broken again, it will be pretty hard for Mommy to trust you.  That got her going!

This afternoon, as I finally finished cleaning the basement, I realized that I still had the laundry to finish, kitchen to tidy, lunches to pack, and dinner to make.  I guess those gently flapping curtains will just have to wait.