Don't Demonize the Dishes

Today is Monday. Monday = CLEANING DAY!  Believe me when I say that my kids are so excited to be home from school today. 
My mom is a brilliant homemaker.  She took the job very seriously.  She taught us all how to do the yearly Spring Clean, the weekly Thorough Clean, the daily Walk Through, and the true art form of the 5 Minute Pick Up.  My sisters are laughing right now, wondering how I ever ended up learning how to do any of  these things.  You see, while they were cleaning, I developed another true art form of walking around and looking very busy.  They affectionately named this art form, "The Kathy."  Now when we get together and it is time to do dishes after the big meal, when someone is not doing their part they say, "Quit doing The Kathy!"  (My next post may be about letting people outgrow their pasts gracefully)!
Because so much of our time as a family revolved around working, cooking, and cleaning together, and I recall it as a happy childhood, it shocks me when I hear people talk so hatefully about "cleaning house" or make it seem like it is of little importance.  I recently overheard someone say, "At my funeral they will not line up all of the dishes I have done in my lifetime."  To that I say, "Don't Demonize the Dishes."  They are the very things that tie us to our homes.  The house, the dishes, the laundry, they make it so we are home when our children are home,  we see what they are doing, we overhear the conversations they are having, and during these tasks we can have the opportunity to teach and train.  They give us a small opportunity to make a HUGE difference by controlling the one environment they will take the most from. 
My mom is a Mother Who Knows what a difference a clean house would make in our lives. 
Now after that short pep talk, I am ready to embark upon a rather long day!  You are welcome to come and visit, but I warn you, it is at your own peril!  The other thing my mother taught me is that "things always get messier before they get cleaner."