Days, months, weeks, and sometimes even years - they all go by us. If we're lucky, we tame them long enough to feel like we were not just standing there as they went by; sometimes we actually feel present in them. But not enough. Too many amazing and wonderful things go by without so much as a nod or moment of appreciation. Because life happens. Because we get busy. Because we just keep going. This blog is a way to stop all of that spinning and pause some of those quiet, simple little moments that make us smile. Being grateful is not something that we just are - being grateful is something we should actively do. This is two friends living many, many miles apart, sharing their tiny little moments of gratitude in pictures with each other and with the world.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Grateful #29 - cleaning





I was a very messy kid.  My mom and dad had to check under my bed and in various drawers for the things they told me to put away; I tried to stuff them in places to hide them.   If you ask any of the people I’ve lived with over the past 13 years, you would hear a lot of the same things.  My poor roommates - they had to endure endless piles of jeans, tshirts, shoes, jackets, sweaters, and sweatshirts floating from my room down the hall because I had an inability to hang up my clothes after one (or several) bouts with hating everything I tried on.  They’d tell you that I have a lot of clutter, that I leave empty boxes of things in the pantry, that there’s toothpaste in the sink.  At some point, probably when I lived alone for the first time a few years ago, I realized that messiness actually didn’t need to define me.  I got tired of being messy, and honestly, I thought it was kind of gross.  I am meticulous about my kitchen now; I can’t stand dirty dishes, crumbs on my counters, or clutter taking up space.  My biggest improvement is that I hang up my clothes as soon as I take them off.  I walk in my closet every morning and I have a million unwrinkled, pretty things to choose from -  (some may fight me on the pretty part, my style may still need some work).

This weekend, I did one of those deep cleanings – vacuum, windex, mop, dust, laundry. I also took my dog to the groomers – she needed a haircut desperately.  When I got her back, she was so fresh, clean and happy.   I could tell she felt so much better,  she even slept happier.  Her clean start in my clean house made it that much better.  I am grateful for how a little cleaning on the outside can also clean up your attitude and make everything feel shiny and new.     

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