Spiritual Business

Dust, dirt and dialogue

Working from home can be problematic. The washing leers at me and I am sure the dust in the corners of the rooms could insulate a small cottage but I wave my hand at it, telling it to shut the hell up and let me be. 'Can't you see I'm working?'

I have become neater as I have grown older. I used to be the messiest person in Christendom. When I was at University, I woke one night certain the mess around my bed was going to fall ontop of me and I would be smothered by ballet shoes and music.

Things changed when I had the Scorpio Daughter and I had to get some sort of a routine happening. I finally kicked into gear when I made a friend whose daughter was the same age and this mother was, argueably, the neatest person in the world.

Her house had an air of calm about it that I hadn't known before and I would visit her just so I could get high off her the fumes of her cleaning products. This hit was enough for me to go home and try clean my own house,  attempting to emulate her dust free existence where the toys crates were labeled and her daughters china tea set was complete without a crack. Sadly my house was never as spick and span as hers, no matter what products I used.

In hindsight she was a little too neat and used antibacterial wipes and spray on everything. As a result, her child was always sick. "Not being exposed to enough germs." my ex-nurse mother told me gravely." A little dirt is good for you."

However, I did keep the toy labeling and looking after them regime she used, teaching my children that toys need to be looked after and to respect them. The same for books. I don't think my changelings ever ripped or drew on a book and god knows we have shelves of them in their rooms. "Books are our friends", I used to say and I would turn the page carefully and as they began to grow and read independently, I saw them turn the page just as I used to when I read to them. With love.

So I keep repeating my mothers mantra, "A little dirt is good for you, a little dirt is good for you." It won't clean my house but it does ease my mind.

Working from home is dirty work.

Later.

1 Response to ‘Dust, dirt and dialogue’

1. Joyous Squaw says:

February 18, 2010 at 10:05am

Re Germs: I remember when Navajo son was born I was MANIC about germs (to the point of being completely insane about them) and a mum I know (who had 3 children) told me: When her first born dropped her dummy, she put it in the sterilizer, then under hot water, then handed it back, when her second dropped his dummy she picked it up, put it in her own mouth and handed it back, when the third one dropped her dummy, the dog licked it and it was handed back !! All 3 children survived !!

And I recall my own mother defrosting chicken on the kitchen bench for half a day then cooking it !! I dont think she wiped the bench 4 times afterwards with disinfectant spray.

Whats a few germs in the whole scheme of things ....

But I too LOVE a clean house, it somehow makes it easier to cope with the out of control "shit" when one has fresh flowers on the table and clean folded tea towels in the drawer ...... I have a Virgo friend who "Mister Sheen's" her skirting boards, but that is another story....

xoxox

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