by Sally Matheny
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| A Mother's Work is Never Done--Or is It? |
Has your child ever called you an insulting name? One Saturday morning,
after eliciting my eleven-year-old’s help with cleaning, he spewed the words, “You’re
a Danny Tanner!”
For those of you not familiar with the family television show,
Full House, Danny Tanner is the parent
obsessive with cleaning.
At first, I was insulted. I am not
obsessed with cleaning. Danny Tanner uses a Dust Buster to clean his vacuum cleaner!
He doesn’t allow anything out of its place. I vacuum once a week, and if we’re
lucky, we may get the main pieces of
furniture dusted. Also, I’m a stacker. I have little stacks of mail, magazines,
and numerous slips of paper filled with writing ideas all throughout the house.
Danny Tanner would go spastic in my house.
It only took a few minutes of comparing myself to Danny Tanner that I
found the whole thing hilarious. I can overlook a messy house for almost five
whole days before it begins to annoy me. And I prefer to do a multitude of other
things instead of cleaning! But I feel responsible for maintaining a peaceful
haven for my family. And let’s face it. An unorganized, messy home does not induce
an atmosphere of serenity. Even my little name-caller will admit he likes the
house better after all the work is done. I do, too. And so, for the next five
to six days, we enjoy ourselves—before it’s time to clean again.
However, relaxing and having fun appear to come more easily for my husband and
children. Seems like I have to be more thoughtful and intentional to stop doing
whatever I think is "necessary" in order to join in the fun.
It’s a fact, a mother's work is never done. Truly. Never.
