Like most people, I like to spend the weekends relaxing. I want to hang out with my husband, daughter and friends. I want to go shopping, out to eat, and recently, in this weather, submerged in a pool. I do not want to spend the weekend cleaning my house.
Not cleaning my house on the weekends, means that I have to work these chores into the week. Working these chores into the week means that they usually take place between the hours of 6pm-8pm. The only problem with this schedule is a little bundle of energy named Autumn. On the occasions when my house cleaning does take place on the weekends, it is strategically planned during Autumn's nap time. Unfortunately, 6pm is not an ideal time to put Autumn down for a nap, so this leaves me cleaning the house with my one year old in tow.
To a one year old, at least to my one year old, everything is a game. Climbing onto the couch and off of the couch, opening and closing a door, taking her toys out and putting her toys away, she finds joy in everything. Following me around as I attempt to mop the floor is no different. Now, you may be saying to yourself, well wouldn't it be easy to just have your husband distract her while you get the housework done. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. Once Autumn has realized that there is something that she cannot have or cannot do, that is, of course, the one thing that she must have or must do. There is no distracting her at that point.
So when I decided that tonight would be a good night to mop the floor, I knew it was going to be a challenge. Autumn decided that the goal would be to hop in front of the mop each time it moved and that's exactly what she did. At first, I was mildly aggravated. Mopping, and any other chore for that matter, is something I would like to finish as quickly as possible. My attitude changed after the first couple of hops Autumn took. She was red-faced belly laughing. Each hop she took made her laugh harder and there is no sound that I love more in this world then the sound of Autumn's laugh. It was then that I realized that finishing my housework is not the priority, being the reason for Autumn's laughter is.
So, while it took significantly longer tonight, and there are little footprints throughout, it was, by far, the most fun I have had mopping the floor.
