Arch Nemesis

I think I've made it abundantly clear in the past how much I dislike cleaning bathrooms.  Well, I think something has overtaken that dislike.  I could go so far as to say I HATE it....Cleaning my daughter's bedroom.

It's not the actual act of cleaning that bothers me either.  I like to organize and know that things are clean.  As far back as I can remember I have liked to have things organized.  Don't get me wrong... growing up, my room wasn't always spotless but I did get to the point where my room would get too messy for me and I would then clean my room.

My daughter doesn't seem to have such a compunction.  I could let her room get filled knee high with papers, stuffed animals, and books and she'd just climb over them.  And that's not even what bothers me the most.  I just can't seem to understand why she keeps some of the things she does.  I look at a small piece of paper and think "What is that?  Must be a scrap from something else she's made."  But no.  My daughter will then start on a discourse on how it is a sprinkle from the doughnut shop she made.  And that little piece of paper is cheese for the pizza kit she made.

I love how inventive she is.  I love that she uses things she finds around the house and pretends they are something else.  I just wish she has an inkling of the organizational bug that I have.  That way, I don't have to take a room like this

This was taken after we'd been working on the room for 30 minutes or so.

to this every couple weeks.

About 24 hours after we started and many breaks later...

It's not as clean as I'd like to see it, but I'm pretty happy with this cleaning session.  After all, she was willing to get rid of more things than I wasn't expecting her to.  Perhaps it's something she's growing into?

Oh, and I also cleaned 2 bathrooms today and although I still don't like to do them, they certainly don't take as much time as cleaning my daughter's bedroom.

Empathy

Years ago I worked with a woman who was raising two boys as a single mother.  It often meant that one or both of them would come in to work with her when school was out (thankfully our employer was flexible like that).  It would mean she HAD to take sick days to take care of a sick kid (no spouse to take turns with).  It meant that she was ALWAYS busy; when not at work, she was doing something for or with her boys.

Back then, I thought she was a special woman for being able to do all that she was doing.  But the last couple days I've gotten an all-new appreciation for what she did.  You see, the last few days my husband has been out of town on a business trip.

Has my husband been on business trips before?  Yes.  But this is the first time he's been on a business trip when I wasn't near family.  In fact, he is staying at my parent's house because the meeting is near their house.  And while there, he's going to drive a couple hours to visit with his grandparents and his parents (who just happen to be finishing a visit to his grandparents).

So what have I learned?  Single mom's are a whole different breed of women.  They are amazing.  The though of doing this day after day, week after week is very daunting.  I've also learned that finding a support system is very important.  If you don't have family nearby, it's important to find friends who can help you out in a pinch.

For example:  I had a friend who watched my kids for a little over an hour today so that I could do something for work.  Was the thing I was doing for work urgent?  No.  But I had made a promise before I knew my husband was going to be out of town, and I felt I had to follow through.  Thankfully Becca was able to help me out... a God-send.


I am so thankful that this is only going to last for a few more days.  But I'm also thankful I've had this experience, because it's given me a new insight into the life of a single mom. 

For those of you who know a single mom... do me a favor.  Offer to help her out every once in a while:  Help her do some stuff around her house, offer to watch her kids for a few hours in the evening or on the weekend (without pay) so she can have some alone time, take her a meal so she can spend more time with her kids, or meet for a play-date (at a park or your house) so she can have a little time talking to another mom while the kids are running around.