Real Life Groundhog Day

Dear Diary,

This weekend, I went on strike from cleaning. Lately, I’ve become a full-time housekeeper. I’m always picking up and putting away toys, clothing and other random items which are always on the floor. It feels like I’m in the movie Groundhog Hog Day.  Like TV weather man Phil Connors, I keep waking up, over and over again, to a mess. On Saturday, which coincidentally was Groundhog’s Day, I cleaned the kitchen, scrubbed the floors, wiped the counters and cabinets and did the dishes. Two minutes later, I tripped over a baby doll stroller parked in front of the stove.  Surrounding the stroller was a shirt, fake plastic food and a pacifier which my daughter never used as a baby but pulled out from the bathroom to soothe herself.  I wondered if someone was playing a trick on me.

I wanted to cry, but I did that the day before.  Well, I didn’t have actual tears, but I know I was crying inside.  I got an email at work which informed me that a water line broke and flooded our apartment.  The property manager asked if I had renter’s insurance.  Fortunately, when I got home, there wasn’t much damage.  But the maintenance men tracked their muddy boots through the water and stomped the clean out of my sparkling floors. Two days before, I got on my hands and knees and scrubbed my hardwood and tiled floors to the point where I was tempted to eat off of them.  While the fan and dehumidifer the repairmen left behind entertained Caitlynn, I got back on all fours and relived the day of cleaning all over again.

That’s why on Saturday–Groundhog Day– I went on strike.  I decided to spend quality time with my daughter and two nephews at an indoor playground, where they could mess up someone else’s room for once!  I didn’t feel guilty for leaving behind an apartment that looked like a cyclone hit. Despite Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction of an early spring, there’s always a storm blowing through my living room.  I forgot about the mess and focused on having fun.  My daughter jumped for joy in the bouncy castle and dived into the ball pit–holding my hand of course.  In the toddler area, I befriended another mom who told me, “Cleaning your house when you have kids is like trying to shovel your driveway in a snowstorm.”

Hey DFTM Fam–Have you ever experienced this?  How do you keep the house clean and keep your sanity?  lol