December 3, 2009

Today is Thursday. There is nothing special about today, it is like any other day of the week. Our calendar is empty for today except...

EXCEPT TODAY IS CLEANING DAY!

We clean house once a week, mostly on Thursdays sometimes on Wednesdays.

Believe me, it is not an easy task. When we both worked we used to have a lady who came once a week and cleaned the apartment. She was from Eastern Europe, we knew her and trusted her with our keys. Aside that she broke a few valuable china or a bottle of red wine we never had any major problem with her.

When my wife retired from regular work she decided to clean the house by herself while I was at work.

I'm saying house. It is an apartment but it has its nooks and crannies. It is not furnished in Victorian style but we do have our share of china, paintings and knickknacks. All with the ability to collect dust.

After I retired and stayed home most of the time it became natural that I would help with the cleaning chores. Being the Alpha Male I was delegated to doing the "heavy" stuff. Vacuuming, laundry, mopping up the tile floors, washing down the bathroom walls and basically cleaning up the entire bathroom. while my wife did the remaining cleaning. Things that are not for men.

We start around 8:30 in the morning and go until done which is about 1:30 pm. I tell you, this is hard work. Once we are finished then we realize how much our body hurt.

I can not believe my wife was doing all this and even more all by herself while I was working.

She always had my respect but after a day like today I respect her even more.

I'm glad we are not doing this professionally because to do this tomorrow again would be impossible.

I was talking to the wife of a very good friend of mine who is in the same boat as I am. She was telling me that while she was away at work her husband cleaned the house. Now, this is a real house! The only problem she had with his cleaning was that when he used the vacuum cleaner he never vacuumed in the corners. Well, I remembered this complaint and ever since then I never miss a corner! Our corners are spotless. Anybody can check them.

But here are some mysteries that need clearing up.

There are perfectly clean curtains hanging on the windows. What does a wife see when she suddenly says: "I want them replaced". Why? I ask, Just because, she says. And that's the end of it. She won (again)!

What makes a wife decide, out of the blue to clean certain things in the apartment that appear perfectly clean to the "untrained" eyes of the husband who is a male. Is this something only women can see?

Come on, I am a qualified domestic engineer with two years of hands on experience and over fifty years of consulting, or rather observing experience.