Mom,
This blog is my letter to you.
First, you need to know that you are a great mom.
I know that me, Manda, Dani and Duddy have enjoyed countless moments of harassing you because of your obsessive compulsive cleaning, but today is the day that I thank you for all of your craziness.
I need to thank you because I've been in homes that were dirtier than the mind could imagine. We cleaned from top to bottom in spaces layered with filth and grim, but I knew how to manage because I crept into your mind and thought "Hmm…how would mom do this?"
In Austarlia we worked with an organization called ARMS : Australian Relief and Mercy Services. We would go into homes and help clean and organize for people that were having trouble keeping up with the management of their households. We met a single mom named, Jamie who had 5 kids under the age of 12 and was battling leukemia.
Her house was ruled by mountains of clothing that piled up on floors and furniture forming the shape of delicate stalagmites. Old diapers, dog, and last weeks dinner created a striking odor that circled the house and refreshingly swirled through the air with any sudden movements. The living room furniture was in hiding. The kitchen stove choked from the buildup of countless meals. The dinning room table was lonely awaiting the fellowship of family dinner and moaned under the weight of nick-nacks and various boxes of stuff. Bugs roamed freely throughout the cabinetry, made homes in opened bags of pasta and invaded flour and sugar canisters with entitlement. It felt like an impossible task. But I had hope.
I had hope because I've experienced the craziest of cleaners work her magic for years.
This is where I swallow my pride, surrender my jokes, and hang a white flag. I want to thank you.
Thank you for raising me in a clean home. Thank you for teaching me how to take care of myself and showing me how to value, respect, and be thankful for the things that I have. Thank you for letting me watch and learn from your busy self frantically move about the house with dust rag in hand. Thank you for all that you have done for me so that I could grown up in a house that felt like a home.
I love you momma dearest.
Love,
Lucy Lou
