‘Rare’ is a mother applauded for keeping her home clean, except maybe if someone wants to sell her more items to do it. Isn’t that true, Mom?
You know it is.
Ridding dirt and dust just ain’t a conversation starter at the family dinner table — more taken for granted than anything else despite all of the hard work moms put into doing so. And yes, I know dads are pitching in more than ever, but let’s get real. Moms have “born the brunt” of removing grime for years and are probably still cleaning up after dads’ and their valiant efforts to help. Am I right?
We all know I’m right!
So imagine my surprise when I received a phone call from my college-age daughter singing my praises over – not all of my award-winning accomplishments – but “how clean I had kept our family home throughout the time she spent living there.”
I almost fell over. Never had I expected this kind of recognition. Nor had I anticipated just how AMAZING it made me feel.
Why had my daughter brought this up? Seems that, most recently, life had posed challenges to her that caused her to uncover realizations about me that she had never thought about before. The master juggler that I had become due to the difficult circumstances I bore as a young mother, widow, and sole provider was finally revealing itself to my daughter. So, tell me so, she decided to.
I realized from that moment on that my daughter and I were embarking on a new stage in our relationship, one brought about by a sink-full of dirty dishes in her sorority house, piles of sweaty clothing left on the communal couch, and labeled food missing from her shelf in the fridge. That “how do ya’ do” was worth all that I had ever done to keep our family home tidy.
Just one of those stories to remind parents (but especially young mothers) that “all your efforts count” even those most seemingly overlooked. They, too, will show up in the wash bucket someday and when they do, you will be surprised at how you shine with satisfaction.