Sparkle and Shine

All day, I had a song that I love stuck in my head: "Sparkle and Shine" by Steve Earle. The reason? Today we created shiney, sparkling spaces. I tend to be challenged in this area. So I got some help, and helped, too: Our friend Monica cleaned our house, while I cleaned Will's classroom at school, a biannual parental responsibility to keep costs down.

At school, I cleaned for two hours straight with an awake child on my back. He supervised my work as he leaned over to one side to see what I was vacuming, leaned to the other to see what I was sweeping, and wiggled around while I bent up and down to pick things up. His least favorite part was scrubbing the floor on hands and knees - mine, too! Another child sprayed desks, windows, floors - anything within a 2-foot radius. Another child vacumed, organized trips to the recycling, and constructed with cubes. Another child snooped around and reported what went where.

Since I can't keep my own house clean, it sounds Herculean to clean a place where18 kids live during the day, WITH my four kids. Other parents marvel - or maybe they actually doubt. But, I honestly love doing it. And so do my kids. I learn about this place where my son spends so much time. John gets constant body heat. The older kids get to feel like they own the place for a couple of hours. They even get to run in the halls as we return the cleaning supplies to their place when we are done. (Clara lit up when I said she could and ran with such an added awareness of the thrill. Uh, oh.)

And THEN, I got to home to a clean house. No more chunks of toothpaste all over the sink. (Too bad I didn't get a picture of that!) No more toilets that pay the price of green flushing. No more cinnamon all over the carpets. No more clutter all over the island. OK, all over everywhere. I immediately think of all the projects I want to do in all this clean space! Then I remember, that's largely what cluttered it all up in the first place. As my very organized sister counsels, one thing at a time.