This morning my house was a disaster and we didn't even host seuda this year! It took me 2.5 hrs to clean up. This is not because cleanup of two and a half rooms takes that long. It's because morning, even when we aren't planning to leave the house, is pretty "need" intense with the kids. Breakfast, elimination, setting up for different activities.. until everyone gets settled in, it's lots of demands (and many mornings, lots of crying as I try to juggle everything). Add to the mix that frequently I am in no mood to straighten up in the evenings, the house looks pretty wrecked until I get to clean it up. This morning I also cajoled Jack into having his hair cut, which involved playing him running away and me chasing him around when it got too intense for him.
Anyway, as I picked up crumpled wrappers, large crumbs, and confetti, I was thinking, "my house is a disaster and we didn't even host seuda!" It looked like we had partied hard here yesterday. And I began to think.. What if, every morning, as I cleaned up the rather giant mess of the day before, I thought to myself about how we had partied hard yesterday? What if I felt the satisfaction of cleaning up after a joyful, fun day? What if i reframed our family mess as a party mess, every day? Did we have fun? Yes. Did we play hard? Yes. Was it awesome? Yes! Is there the next morning cleanup? Yes. But cleaning up while reflecting on what a great time we all had is a different vibe.
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I'm much more motivated to wake up to a clean house, no dishes in the sink, clean table beckoning to be set, or to have an art project started, or a drawing, or a clean counter calling for a bowl of pancake batter, than to a party mess, even if it was a good party! The only time it does not bother me is on Pesach, because I feel that the night before we ate like kings (and I also happen to like my Pesach china). Otherwise, waking up to crumbs, and mess takes all the mental energy just to clean up, and forget about starting on anything new.
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