Thursday, January 22, 2009

Where's dad?

As much as I hate to admit it, my house isn't always clean.  Doug and I clean in very different ways.  When I clean, I want things to be in their permanent spot and organized, so cleaning takes an eternity - besides the fact that I frequently change my mind about how to best organize.  Doug on the other hand puts everything into one pile, generally kind of hides it, and the room in clean.  I hate that pile - it takes me months to go through, sort, file, throw away, etc, not to mention losing things and late bills.  I make LOTS of piles.  A pile of things that need to go downstairs, a pile of things that need filed, a pile of clothes that are too small and need to go in a box - you get the point.  Doug starts with the little things like making sure the movies are in their correct cases and I start with the big things like making sure the couch is in the right place.  Doug hates the way I clean and I hate the way he cleans and we have learned to live with that.

So today when Brenden got home, the house was totally clean - no plethora of piles and the countertops were even sanitized.  The first words out of Brenden's mouth: "Where's dad?"  

Now this isn't the first time this has happened.  Once in Pocatello I spent an afternoon cleaning out the boys' closet, washing sheets, making beds, organizing, etc.  When 3 boys share a tiny closet, well, the results aren't pretty.  When 3 boys share a small room, the results are even worse.  Brenden came home from preschool and immediately said, "Wow, dad did a great job on my room!"  I told him it was me and looked at me like I was a LIAR.

I hate when my house is a mess.  It makes me want to pack everything back into boxes and start all over.  I like to blame it on the fact that Doug wasn't home the day we moved in and nothing ever got formally organized in a functional manner.  Directing 4 movers and keeping 3 little boys out from under their feet at the same time didn't work, so the movers put things wherever the heck they wanted.  I still have things I can't find, but I am consoled knowing that my neighbor in Pocatello used my hand mixer for a full year because she never found hers.  Doug likes to say that we haven't properly trained the boys to clean up after themselves (which is largely true, but I really like things in their spot, so I do it myself - it just takes me a while).  The real reason (in my opinion): We have too much stuff.

But, for the meantime, my house (okay, we'll stick with the upstairs) is clean and I feel good about that.  I dread the fact that in a moment I am going to walk down the stairs to the playroom from hell...  (Remember the flood?  Now there is flood disaster + afternoon of Nolan alone while I talked with Ethan's developmental specialists.)

That was supposed to be the end of this post - ending on a dramatic note, but speaking of the development specialists:
They were fun and Ethan loved them.  I look forward to working with them.  Ethan is the first child with hearing loss they have ever seen in their 9 years working with the early intervention program (birth-age 3).  They told me about some great resources here that I have been searching for since before we moved.  I feel like something was accomplished today beyond cleanliness.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I totally sympathize on the different methods of cleaning - Jens and I are the same way. Cleaning takes me FOREVER, and knowing that keeps me from attempting it very often. Yesterday I cleaned out the coat closet. Baby steps.

Alicia J said...

I make lots of piles too. But then I eventually move all the little piles into one big pile that sits on top of my dresser until it falls over and I have to deal with it. I hate piles!

Amber said...

I can totally relate. I had the movers put all the extra stuff in the garage, and yep, It's still full. I still haven't found a place for everything because the house we moved into is 1/3 the size of the one in Aberdeen.
And, Derek and I hate the way each other cleans too. He freaks out about dust and dirt (the floor has to be swept 3 times a day), while leaving a pile of toy in the middle of the floor. I'm the opposite. I hate clutter.

Kristen said...

I must admit while Todd doesn't exactly clean with the "depth" of clean that I like, our goals and habits are a lot alike. We both like to organize and can't stand to have piles of stuff not in their correct places. But don't take that to mean that Todd is some sort of "neat freak" because he's faaaar from that. His idea of cleaning the kitchen is making sure all garbage is in the garbage and dirty dishes are in the sink. Vacuuming is a quick V sweep in the family room and one path down the hall.

I have tried and tried to teach my girls to organize their stuff and put everything in it's place but I am of the firm opinion that this isn't a concept that kids can understand.

Anonymous said...

I am so excited to hear the specialists are finally getting you some answers. I thought you were going to say "where's dad?" because at my house, that simply means we don't really clean and when mom cleans, we all have to pitch in _Jamie