An ode to moms
Maybe you remember my olive oil story form a while ago. Well, it got me thinking about all the things that moms/wives do that go unnoticed.* Now, let me say for the record that I am not complaining about all the things I do or trying to get some sort of acknowledgment.
I genuinely like caring for my home and all of it's inhabitants, some days more than others, yes, but all the same, I enjoy it. I also feel as though I must go on record that Ryan is very good about thanking me for many thankless jobs and letting me know how much he appreciates having clean, ironed shirts for work each day.
So...
As a kid it was so easy. You never thought about how the food got to your house or who prepared it or served it, you just ate it. You didn't stop to wonder who cleaned your messes or did your laundry or packed your lunch. You just made more messes, created more laundry (I think I remember changing my clothes 3-4 times a day at one point, just for fun) and went about your life.
Then, as you got a little bit older, you took on a few more responsibilities like making your bed or cleaning your room and it was SO HARD. What! I have to wake up AND make my bed? My life sucks!
With each passing year, new chores and new responsibilities but, and I feel like an asshole for saying this, no new respect for all the hard work my mom did. I still assumed a fairy of some sort did all the dirty work. The realization didn't come until much later. But now that I have it, I feel like I could say thank you every day of the rest of my life and STILL not communicate how much I appreciate all that she did.
I know that I used to make little comments and get frustrated with my mom over how clean she liked the house but now I realized why she took the job so seriously. It wasn't just about keeping a clean house or preparing healthy meals, it was about taking care of and respecting your home and your body.
And when I scrub the toilet or wipe down the frickin' stainless steel refrigerator door for the 5 millionth time TODAY I know that I am doing it because I appreciate and respect that I have a clean toilet and a refrigerator. I don't have to use a hole dug in the ground or worry about where my next meal is coming from.
I know I drive Ryan crazy sometimes, well, all the time with my constant wiping and cleaning and nagging. And I know that some day my kids are going to roll their eyes and mumble under their breath how annoying mom is and how crazy she is and why do I have a stupid whole wheat sandwich with organic vegetables, I want a Lunchable damn it. But I also hope they know this; to me thoughtful cleanliness IS love and no matter how much you bitch while I'm doing it.
I remember my mom telling me a story about a gentleman whose wife had recently passed away. He was expressing how much he missed her and then he said, "You know, I never realized that you can actually run out of clean underwear until my wife passed away."
It is so true. Sometimes it is the things that go unnoticed when they are there, that you miss the most when they are gone.
* Yes, I am aware that men can do all of these things as well.
I genuinely like caring for my home and all of it's inhabitants, some days more than others, yes, but all the same, I enjoy it. I also feel as though I must go on record that Ryan is very good about thanking me for many thankless jobs and letting me know how much he appreciates having clean, ironed shirts for work each day.
So...
As a kid it was so easy. You never thought about how the food got to your house or who prepared it or served it, you just ate it. You didn't stop to wonder who cleaned your messes or did your laundry or packed your lunch. You just made more messes, created more laundry (I think I remember changing my clothes 3-4 times a day at one point, just for fun) and went about your life.
Then, as you got a little bit older, you took on a few more responsibilities like making your bed or cleaning your room and it was SO HARD. What! I have to wake up AND make my bed? My life sucks!
With each passing year, new chores and new responsibilities but, and I feel like an asshole for saying this, no new respect for all the hard work my mom did. I still assumed a fairy of some sort did all the dirty work. The realization didn't come until much later. But now that I have it, I feel like I could say thank you every day of the rest of my life and STILL not communicate how much I appreciate all that she did.
I know that I used to make little comments and get frustrated with my mom over how clean she liked the house but now I realized why she took the job so seriously. It wasn't just about keeping a clean house or preparing healthy meals, it was about taking care of and respecting your home and your body.
And when I scrub the toilet or wipe down the frickin' stainless steel refrigerator door for the 5 millionth time TODAY I know that I am doing it because I appreciate and respect that I have a clean toilet and a refrigerator. I don't have to use a hole dug in the ground or worry about where my next meal is coming from.
I know I drive Ryan crazy sometimes, well, all the time with my constant wiping and cleaning and nagging. And I know that some day my kids are going to roll their eyes and mumble under their breath how annoying mom is and how crazy she is and why do I have a stupid whole wheat sandwich with organic vegetables, I want a Lunchable damn it. But I also hope they know this; to me thoughtful cleanliness IS love and no matter how much you bitch while I'm doing it.
I remember my mom telling me a story about a gentleman whose wife had recently passed away. He was expressing how much he missed her and then he said, "You know, I never realized that you can actually run out of clean underwear until my wife passed away."
It is so true. Sometimes it is the things that go unnoticed when they are there, that you miss the most when they are gone.
* Yes, I am aware that men can do all of these things as well.
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