Starting next week, I will be going into the office 2 days a week. I am not looking forward to it, but it’s something that needs to be done. And with no kids at home, I don’t have an excuse not to. I have also been going over to our church to exercise with a group of women 3 mornings a week. Which means I will not have a morning to myself.
So this morning I decided that I wanted to stay home and enjoy being alone in the quiet for one last morning. I chose to not go over to exercise. I was going to crawl back into bed after the kids left for school and take a long nap, then soak in the tub when I woke up.
But as I was standing by the side of my bed, I looked around at the mess. Now don’t get me wrong, my house isn’t filthy. But there was stuff sitting around that needed to be put away. So I decided to do a quick pick-up and put-away session while I called my mom. I did that and we were still talking, and I noticed that I hadn’t dusted in a while. So I grabbed my Swiffer cloth and dusted while were talking.
When I got off the phone, I decided that my whole house needed a good cleaning. I could have (and should have) waited for my children to get home and help me, but when I get the motivation to clean, I try not to ignore it! Plus I was feeling really guilty for not exercising, so I thought I would make this my exercise for the day.
I have loaded all my CD’s on my computer, and I used Windows Media Player to create a cleaning playlist. Fast moving music that I can sing to and keeps me moving. I put it on super loud (SUPER loud!) and went to work. I finished dusting, then vacuumed all the carpet, swept all the floors, mopped all the floors, shook all the rugs, and cleaned both bathrooms. It took me 2 hours and 15 minutes, and I was exhausted when I was done. I had worked fast and hard and my face was bright red. I felt like I had just worked out for 2 hours.
Wait, I had! Exercise doesn’t have to be aerobics or yoga. I was up and down and moving my arms and legs and squatting and reaching and bending. And even if I had to take a cool shower to try and cool down when I was done, I felt good. You know, that feeling that you accomplished something. And I had it doubly good because I also had a super clean house when I was done!
I may skip exercising once a week and just focus on cleaning that day. I love how my house looks!
I just ironed.
Gasp! I know! Me? Ironing? Will wonders never cease?
I hate to iron. I think it stems back 12 years ago when I was putting the iron away on a shelf and it fell and landed on my pinky toe and broke it. Ever since then, I have had a hate/hate relationship with the iron. I don’t buy 100% cotton shirts. #1, they shrink in the wash, even if you are careful. And #2, they have to ironed. So I just avoid them.
But…(and here’s the really cool news, the whole reason why you are reading this post)…
I get to sing in the choir for the General Relief Society Meeting in the Conference Center on September 25th! I am so excited! We have to wear a white, button up shirt for the choir. So I had to go buy one. Now, I know I am going to get a lot of you saying, “You could have borrowed one from me,” and my mom has already offered and I know I would fit in hers. But I was thinking about it and I came to the conclusion that I need to have one. It is a little dressier than what I have been wearing and I guess, I just felt like it was time to own one. I know, it sounds stupid. Let’s move on.
So I bought one and I ironed it. It looks nice. But my biggest gripe with white shirts is that they generally aren’t made with the thickest of fabrics. Which means you can see more through them than I am EVER comfortable with. So in addition to buying the shirt, I also had to buy a camisole to go under it to hide my, well, you know, goodies.
But it’s frustrating to buy something that won’t even be fully seen. Yes, I can wear it with other outfits, those that are just a little too low in the front. But even then you will see about 1 square inch of this cami that cost $9! And that was at 50% off. But if that’s what it takes to make me feel comfortable in the white shirt, I will do it.
Now, if learning my alto part for the songs was as easy!
And when someone breaks our wings, our spirit, or our hearts...
we simply continue to fly on a broom stick.
We are flexible like that.
At 8: Mom knows a lot!
At 12: Mom doesn’t really know everything.
At 14: Mom doesn’t know anything.
At 16: Mom doesn’t exist.
At 18: Mom's just old fashioned.
At 25: Maybe Mom does know about this!
At 35: Before we decide, let’s ask Mom.
At 45: I wonder what Mom thinks about this?
At 65: I wish I could ask my Mom.