A Clean House

The stangest thing has happened around here. My house is clean. I don't mean dusted and vacuumed and mopped, I mean really clean. I have all things done at the same time. I have not been a horrid housekeeper neither have I been fastidious. I generally did the floors once a week, the fridge once a month, the windows at least twice a year, wiped down the walls occasionally, cleaned closets every so often and even got under the beds at least once a year. I would never claim to be compulsive about a clean house, but everything got done on a rotational basis. I longed for the day when the everything would be clean at once! I just wanted the shoes in the entry to be organized and stay that way!
I have now managed to clean every closet, vacuum under every bed (each of which also has been made up with clean sheets), wipe down every cupboard, organize every drawer, wash every window, straighten every shoe, scrub every bathroom, mop every floor, clean every appliance and match every sock! The amazing thing is that all of this is done at the same time and there is no one around here to undo any of it! I think this is what it feels like to be "caught up". I don't think I have ever been "caught up" before in my motherhood life. This is not a bad thing, in fact it feels good. There, I have found something positive about this empty nesting phase. I am enjoying a clean floor all of the time and not just on Mondays (my traditional 'floor day'). It is refreshing to always have a clean refrigerator, organized closets, a crumbless microwave, windows untouched by hand prints and spotless bathrooms. It is a nice thing, but it is also a reminder that there are no children to put their hands on the windows, no one eating at the table spreading crumbs on the table and in the microwave, no feet tracking in dirt to be cleaned from the floors. Okay, I confess, I love my clean house, but I really miss my children. The day has come when I organize the shoes and say to them "Now stay that way!" and they do. It is a sad day.