Growing up, there were certain rooms in our house we weren’t allowed in. We had a formal dining room and living room that had wall-to-wall carpet. My mom couldn’t stand the footprints on the carpet, she much preferred the even lines created by the vacuum. Our piano was located just beyond the living room, with no access point unless you went through the dining room and the living room. Needless to say…I didn’t practice much.
I remember when we had company over, the first thing my mom would always do would be to vacuum. In those days, I didn’t understand the urgency to clean. As a homeowner myself, I sometimes feel that tug for perfection but vowed very early on as a mom that our house would not be a museum, but I would embrace the lived-in look.
On Friday, as colleagues were swapping weekend plans, I said, “I can’t wait to clean my bathrooms.” After several busy weekends with little time for anything else other than essentials, some of the basic home upkeep has fallen by the wayside. I now can see why my mom may have been called to vacuum. I, too, feel calmer when the floors are clean, and I don’t feel the crunch of crumbs under my feet. I wonder if my mom felt the rhythmic calm the sound of the vacuum provides and the satisfaction that this small task can make a world of difference in how the house feels.
Some days, I long for the museum look…to have cleaned a mess and not find a fresh one in the next room I enter. But then I remind myself that houses are for living…and I can always make myself feel better with a quick swipe of the vacuum.
Where There Is Joy 
Perfect tug of clean and lived in desires. Those vacuum lines can work a little magic when necessary. Clean bathrooms make me happy! Can’t stand putting my hand in a crumby counter!
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Bear with me because I just read an analysis of a poem I love, but I think you’ve nailed the sounds of the clean house. Look at these lines, “I too, feel calmer when the floors are clean, and I don’t feel the crunch of crumbs under my feet. I wonder if my mom felt the rhythmic calm the sound of the vacuum provides and the satisfaction that this small task can make a world of difference in how the house feels.” I was immediately struck by them, and then I noticed the /t/ and /k/ sounds that pepper the first half, followed by a series of /s/. Which, to me, sounds like cleaning then sweeping or vacuuming. Very cool.
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That was an accident! 🤣
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The line about not practice piano too often made me giggle.
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Houses are for living….my new mantra. I do love a clean house. I just don’t like cleaning the house!
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Oh, we could have long conversations and analysis about clean houses and where they fall on the importance pole. One of my first cleaning tasks over the weekend was to get a rag and wipe dust from the window ledges and shelves. Apparently, after a conversation, other people in the house notice it, but it doesn’t bother them enough to wipe it. I’m the wiper of the house. A shedding labrador leads to a lot of vacuuming in the house, but again, I think I’m the first noticer. I like the reminder that houses are for living and are not museums.
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Jessica,
You’ve inspired so many thoughts w/ this post. I understand your mom’s cleaning. I wonder if it gave her a sense of control. Cleaning did that for me in my first marriage at a time I felt out of control. In retrospect I wish I’d been less concerned w/ cleaning when my kids were young, but I grew up in a messy house I was embarrassed to bring my friends to. It wasn’t lived-in messy. It was the product of my lazy stepmother. Sometimes I got up at 3:00 a.m. to mop. These days my home is lived in. I had an empty-nest epiphany some years ago: My kids were not the only messy ones living here. LOL! Anyway, love the post and the complicated thoughts it brought me.
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Your mom sounds like my daughters! They always need everything a lot cleaner than me as I tend to get frustrated that the dust and the dirt always come back and I’d rather do something else. Your slice describes it all so well, very enjoyable.
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Homes are meant to be lived in. Glad you embrace the mess, but sometimes you just gotta clean!
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