The last ten days I’ve been consumed by two major tasks:
Keeping my house clean
enough to receive house guests.
Keeping my fridge
stocked for said guests.
School is out in many
areas of the U.S. which is great for me because it means people are leaving on
vacation and, if I’m lucky, popping over to Paris for a sejour. This week my
favorite cousin stayed with us for a couple days. Then my only American expat
friend who re-patted herself back to the U.S. with her family two years ago
came over for dinner with her kids and hubs. And, of course, yesterday was
father’s day so we had the in laws over for a barbecue.
Now, I think you all
know how I feel about housecleaning. Keeping even a hygienically normal house when you have four kids is downright
exhausting. But I bit the bullet and used our upcoming visits as motivation to deep clean our place, washing drapes and
linens, mopping, dusting, cleaning bathrooms etc…until the whole place shined!
Then, two days later, I
pretty much had to do it again.
And again, a few days
after that.
Trying to keep my damn
house clean pretty much almost killed me.
Because after about the third clean sweep, and mowing the front and back lawns,
I came down with the Bubonic French Throat Virus (this may or may not be the official
term).
Saturday my nose started
running. Sunday it reached faucet-like proportions and my head stuffed up.
Wednesday I thought I might be through the worst. Then Thursday I woke up with
a sore throat. Friday the fever set in and it felt like I was gargling glass
every time I swallowed. This was followed by a range of symptoms running the gamut
from mildly irritating to downright
bizarre that kept me on my toes all weekend- including chills, fatigue and
hand and face swelling.
Finally, today, the
virus seems to be receding back into the hell hole from which it sprung and as
much as I love having guests from the U.S., I’m thankful for the opportunity to
finally just get some rest and relax before we leave on vacation in July.
What I learned: house
cleaning can be hazardous to your physical and mental health. Avoid at all
costs.
And do you ever feel like life is out to get you
despite your best intentions?
25 comments:
My daughter just came back from Paris, and I think she caught this virus!
Lots of cleaning plus getting sick doesn't sound good. Sounds like life is telling you to take a big relaxing weekend with no cooking or cleaning. Yes, I can totally relate to life not cooperating. And I really don't like all the cleaning for guests. You see all the dirt that's not so obvious when you don't care.
Sorry you felt miserable while you had house guests. Just say no to housework.
I'll pass on that virus...there are enough wicked ones here in Mexico. Though you were sick, you blog post today is funny.
I'm showing my hubby this post next time I need to clean the house. I'm sure he would rather I didn't do anything that was hazardous to my health. :D
I had four kids and no matter how hard I tried to keep it straightened up, it was always messy with toys and the things of childhood. My house is neat now because my children are grown and out of the house, but they visit often with their children. I do not mind the mess they make and am happy to have someone to clean up after now. Living life is not about neatness.
See? That is why house cleaning is a bad, bad thing. Taking down drapes and looking behind furniture ... never a good thing! Some things are best left undisturbed.
I needed an excuse for not cleaning. Freshly scrubbed is over-rated anyway, isn't it?
Yes, between RAF Lakenheath and arriving at O'Hare, I did kind of feel like life was out to get me. It was a crazy day, from Heathrow to Chicago, but we made it back stateside in one piece.
Here's hoping you feel better soon. I hope you can take it easy and, yeah, avoid that cleaning thing. Clearly it's dangerous! ;)
It's wonderful to entertain family and friends, but it surely can be exhausting. Sometimes we have to let certain things slide; not always easy because that means we have to step out of our comfort zone and accept our limitation. (Yeah, I kind of suck at that one.) ((Cyber HUGS))
Oh dear!! Glad you are over the worst of the plague! :-) But seriously!! It was your body's way of saying. Stop. Rest. Sleep. Rest some more. Sleep some more.
:-)
Take care
x
i feel your pain! I had house guests this weekend as well and have more next week, and it is exhausting keeping up with all the house work. Hope you're taking some time to relax.
I'm glad you're starting to feel better!
My four kids are older now, but I remember what it was like when they were younger--I'd finish cleaning the house and it was time to start over.
Hope you feel better soon, Katie. Being sick sucks. I felt yucky this week too (I had a cold/teeth pain/a fever). And boy do I hate cleaning!!!!
(I do have some exciting news on my blog though :-))
The bubonic french toast virus. I may have heard of that in an Orbitz commercial.
Sorry to hear you took ill. But it sounds like, after much cleaning, nose dripping, odd body reactions and weirdness, things are on the mend.
Recommending you take two days off from cleaning and call for a maid in the morning :-)
Having family and friends come to stay appears to be hazardous to your health ;)
I hope you have a great time and that you are feeling better soon.
Glad you're recovering from the BFTV!
I have three kids and know exactly how you feel with the futile cleaning. Argh.
I feel like keeping my house clean is an effort in futility. I kill myself too, trying to clean it, but to no avail. As soon as The Husband and kids come home, it all goes to hell. Then they just don't seem to understand why I get so angry at them, ugh!
My mom always tells me, it's not how clean or organized the house is that's important, it's how much quality time you spend with the girls that matters. Don't allow all the cleaning consume you; just focus on being the best mom you can. :)
I'm sorry you were sick, and I hope you are feeling better. I'd like to say that I keep my apartment clean all the time, but my bed is currently unmade, the floor hasn't been vacuumed, and I can't even go into my kitchen right now because I can't bear to look at it. I wish I was rich enough to hire someone to clean for me.
Before kids, I had a spotless house. After four of them, all I have is a bitch slap from Martha Stewart. I am such a fail!
I did that once, cleaned for my sister's visit, steamcleaned the carpets myself and got sick afterward. (maybe it's in the dust)
I was sick the whole time she visited but still managed to drive her around to see the sights. She chastised me by saying she wouldn't have minded if I didn't do all that cleaning. (she's my younger sis) We did have a great female weekend with her telling my daughters all her trials with me as big sis. They were enthralled.
Ack! Hope you feel 100 percent again...immediately! I so wish I was popping over to Paris on my summer vacation! I pick up before people come over, but I save the intense cleaning for AFTER everyone leaves.... Christy
Every time me or my son would attempt to clean the house my wife would be there saying, "I want it done to MY level of cleanliness!"
We hired a housecleaner!
Hope you're feeling better now!
My house is never so clean as when my parents are coming for a visit. I have a difficult enough time with two kids underfoot as is, I can only imagine that with four I'd likely toss clothes into respective bedrooms and call it a day.
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