On Saturday afternoons, we usually go out to spend time with the kids. If we choose to stay at home, we have an activity that we do together, even if it’s just watching a video and sharing some snacks.
But today, since my weekend helper was absent, I had no choice but to take on her tasks, which are to dust surfaces, mop the floors, change the sheets, and of course, clean the toilets and baths.
Each brush stroke, like an act of genius, is a stroke of love. Photo from the internet.Hubby has his own toilet and bath, which only he uses. The two kids and I use a different area. That means that I almost never get to check hubby’s cove. I don’t remember the last time I cleaned it. Maybe it was last month? Or a bit more? I am not sure. But what greeted me are walls thick with a layer of rust colored stuff and some molds while the floor was already very slippery with another kind of rust-colored sticky stuff. That is because our water comes with a lot of residue that even if I scrub it to the point of sparkling squeakiness, it will only take maybe three days for those stains to start building up again. Of course, the humidity really makes it for conducive for all these icky bathroom stuff. And if the helpers forget to turn on the water line to fill up the tank and the tank is emptied, all the rust at the bottom of the tank rises up and stains everything in the bathroom, even if you had just cleaned. Yeah, that is how unfair it is.
Armed with a pail of soapy water and two brushes, I tried to scrub the walls and floors so that most of the sticky stuff came off. But I am not 100% satisfied. Let’s say, I am 70% okay with it. I know that I could put bleach and scrub some more. However, I needed to do other things and I satisfied myself with the thought that it’s much cleaner already. Besides, I had another bathroom to scrub and the little one might demand for her feed anytime.
With my work and my motherhood responsibilities and without a full-time helper or nanny, I hardly find the time to follow each and every mess in the house. But I do mop the floor and wipe surfaces like every 2-3 days because if I don’t, we would start to sneeze and cough. The situation here is that when you wipe your stuff in the morning, you will be able to see dust settling on them when afternoon comes. That’s how high maintenance our living spaces are. If I want the room to be nice and clean always, I would have to clean twice a day.
I thought to myself cleaning this afternoon, “Wow, I spent most of my Saturday afternoon cleaning toilet bowls and shower areas.” But then, I believe that every stroke cleans the area and every scrub means removing the removing unsightly buildup. During those moments of scrubbing, all I can think of is that this is an act of love.
I remember the verse Colossians 3:23: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters..” Indeed if I do things out of love, including household chores, I am not just doing it for myself but for God. I am doing this because I love my husband, the one whom God gave me.
I am already so fortunate that my husband is not a complainer. He just waits if and when I will clean his toilet and bath. I shall not complain as well.
So all in all, nothing was wasted this afternoon. All the time and effort spent cleaning was an act of love. No regrets there. I love my husband and I love doing it for him. I just wish that I could have done more.
