Dear Sam,
Are you familiar with the mother’s curse?
It’s what a mother says to one of her offspring, often in a fit of
frustration or anger, about a particular habit or trait she sees and struggles
with. It goes something like this, “I
hope you have a child just like you someday!”
For my mom, it was my messiness.
You are the product of her mother’s curse on me.
I have tried not to utter these words in your presence, because I
wouldn’t wish a messy child on you. It
is so irritating, perhaps more so because I am not especially tidy myself. I HATE housework (yes, you get that from
me). I despise everything about it,
except the finished product of course.
For more than 15 years, I have been fortunate enough to pay someone else
to do the worst of the dirty work. I did
this for 3 reasons: 1. As mentioned, I hate to clean. I just don’t enjoy it at all. I know some people say they do but that seems
like a sanctimonious lie to me (at least it would be a wicked lie if I ever
said it). 2. I have struggled for years with back and
joint pain. As you know, I had to
undergo multiple surgeries in the past 5 years to correct for prematurely worn
out joints (hip and ankle). My theory is
that between years of sports and childrearing, I just ran out of miles sooner than
most. Regardless, it hurt a lot to do
much housework beyond the bare minimum which included laundry (oh the endless
laundry), cooking and dishes (why do you guys want to eat EVERY SINGLE DAY?)
and so much picking up and organizing and tidying (there are so many of us, and
we have SO MUCH STUFF). And 3. I have
always worked full time, and I have been fortunate enough to have a job that
paid well enough to take the deeper cleaning off my plate. Every time your dad has suggested maybe we
could take over the cleaning, I have suggested I could stop working full time,
and the conversation has ended. I’m so
much better at my professional job than housekeeping anyway, the entire family
is getting a good deal when I outsource it.
You, however, my beloved little curse, will not have the funds to pay
someone to clean your toilets and floors for a few years here. You will need to clean your own room, and,
with my limited inclination to cleanliness and your own tendency towards being
a slob, I anticipate that this will be a bit of a challenge for you. I don’t really have any tidbits or tips for
you, the best I can offer is to set a timer and force yourself to stay with it
for that set amount of time. If you do
it daily you shouldn’t probably dig yourself in too deep. You know we have adopted this in our own
house. Our periodic “terrible tens” are
universally despised in our house, but you know they work. You also know when the ten minute timer goes
off, you are all free to scatter. There
is nothing worse than being tricked into more cleaning than you grudgingly
agreed to, even with yourself.
This will likely be quite challenging for awhile. College age boys are not known for the
sparkling cleanness of their living quarters.
If I close my eyes, I can still smell the stale, slightly sour stink of
the boys’ only dorms in college. Thanks
to our paid help over the years, you have narrowly avoided this fate up until
now, but next year, you’ll be on your own.
So before you go, Sam, clean your room. Do your best to establish a few habits, however minimal, of tidiness and cleanliness. Alas, it is not your birthright (at least from me) but it will serve you well into the future. Your future wife, and maybe your own cursed children, will thank you. Before you go, clean your room!
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