May 21, 2014

Quiet Moments

I'm cleaning up after the boys have had lunch and, as every mom can attest, scowling at the fact that my kitchen floor needs a severe mopping. Moment of truth: it's been weeks since I mopped. Days since I've swept. Oh, here and there I've thrown down a disinfectant wipe and used my foot to scoot around a couple of problem spots; but a full mopping of the floor is never on my radar.

(Second moment of truth: I will never secretly think haughty thoughts of my friends' kitchen floors now that I have toddlers. I get it now.)

Thinking about my floor stirs a memory of my mom from when I was little. For years I still had to take a "nap" and usually I opted to do so in my parents' bedroom. I remember how calm and quiet our home was during those parts of the day. Often, I would come out from resting and the kitchen would be spotless. I remember how when my mom mopped the floor she would turn the kitchen chairs upside down onto the table, mop and then sit and read and snack on something while she waited for the floor to dry. The lights in the house were off, fans quietly whirring and pockets of natural light shone in through the windows. That was usually where I'd find her. It wasn't spoken, but we were forbidden to walk on that floor while it was wet and freshly clean - a floor that wouldn't keep it's shine for too long what with two kids who loved the outdoors. The older I became, I enjoyed helping her flip the chairs on and off the table though I never actually mopped.

I know that my mom had 30+ years to learn how to maintain and create a home. It's hard to keep that in mind while I have two munchkins undermining my every move to have at least one corner of our house clean. It's my hope to one day obtain that moment of calm. I want my boys to feel at peace in their own home and maybe later appreciate those quiet moments...

...and a clean kitchen floor.




No comments:

Post a Comment