Satisfying...

Earlier this week I was doing the evening chores. Yeah, I know that makes me sound like I live in a Little House on the Prairie book, but that's how I always think of the daily list of things we do. Morning chores, afternoon chores, evening chores.  As I was grabbing the litter scoop I was going over in my head what all I still needed to do for the day; scoop the litter, run the sweeper, put away the clean clothes, cook dinner. All of them things I would need to do again if not the very next day then the day after. I might skip laundry one day...

It just never ends. And it never seems done. Like this chore is done. Laundry always reappears. I might get all the baskets cleared for a day but as soon as we get ready for bed, more laundry. I might get the litter all cleaned out but most likely in the time it takes me to drop the bag in the trash outside one of the cats has used the box again. Vacuuming and dusting are both losing battles. As soon as one area is clean a ball of fur from somewhere is rolling out to cover it back up. 

Mopped the floors yesterday and Tig proceeded to roll all over them to get the clean smell off and his smell back on. 

It never ends.

And that's just with me and Brent and the cats. I thought about my friends with kids still in the house and realized how easy I have it. Even more laundry, homework, dishes, more cooking, always something sticky...

When Katie was born I was a stay at home mom. I did that until she was almost three. But those early toddler years were a never ending cycle of things that needed to be done. Laundry, cooking, cleaning, entertaining and teaching. Every night after we put her to bed we'd tidy up the house. Move the toys back into their places, wipe counters, wash dishes. Get ready to start it all over again. When I went back to work in an office those things still needed done but now we crammed them in around the edges of work. Weekends were a blur of DOING.

But even with how easy I have it now, and compared to my friends, it's still frustrating. It's just never done. There is always something waiting on the to do list. Not just the daily chores that keep the place running, but then there are weekly chores, and semi monthly chores, and home improvement chores, and seasonal chores...and and and...

And very rarely do you finish something and think, yeah. That's done. 

Except...

We had a ton of snow on Thursday. Went to bed Wednesday night with the weather people all saying it should be done soon and instead it snowed all night. Our second snowiest day since they started keeping records. Over ten inches measured at the airport. Just a lot of snow. And it was going to be cold for the next few days. But sunny. So what would happen is that top layer of snow was going to melt from the sun, and then freeze from the cold and make it an icy mess. So I shoveled. 

It was a cardio day anyway.

I shoveled our front porch where it had blown under the cover. I shoveled one side of our driveway. I shoveled the sidewalk in front of our house and our neighbor's house. I shoveled a path from the back yard to the front to take our trash bin out. (Which the trash people are not picking up until next week so that wasn't necessary after all) And while I shoveled the wind blew and covered part of what I had done. But only partly. And only one place where it blew enough I had to shovel it twice. 

And once I was done I looked out and could see what I had done. And the sun has kept it clear for the past few days while everyone who didn't shovel now has ice slicks instead of sidewalks. (Don't do that, really, if someone slips and breaks a leg in front of your house and you haven't shoveled you are responsible and they can sue you) Today when I look outside I see a dry driveway and clear pathways. It's very satisfying. 

It's like painting. That is a chore that when you are done you can look at and think, that is finished. That looks different than when I started. I accomplished that. 

It's very satisfying. 

Now if you'll excuse me I need to toss a load of clothes in the wash...