I have been looking forward to cleaning today! While we acknowledge the power of worker solidarity today, I am feeling good about doing a deep clean of the house. A full day to vacuum, dust, scrub, and pull carpet!
I realized as I was vacuuming the den that it's not so much that I love cleaning as that I love two things that are cause-effect related to cleaning. I love that brief moment when everything is clean and in order--when it's all done, if for a moment, and I love the events that prompt me to clean.
This actually relates to running--I ran a good 20 miles on Saturday morning. By 10 miles in my shirt and shorts were saturated with sweat. The shower after that long run felt amazing, especially sloughing off the dried salty dirt on my skin. Saunas, hot yoga, exercise generally--it's not just cleaning the dirt and sweat off, it's the cleansing power of sweating itself that makes one feel so good.
Think about it--we all probably enjoy the things that prompt really good cleans. These are the things that are awesome and fun, often events to look forward to or work hard for. I enjoy parties, well-prepared food, house guests, 10 kittens, and good runs not because I know of the imminent cleanse, but because these provide sustained moments that refresh and re-set me. These are phenomena that I not only enjoy but that I love. And each of these phenomena require a good scrub afterwards, which for me, also leads to that brief moment where everything is new, fresh, and re-set again--be it an orderly room or a relaxed body.
What prompted this particular reflection on cleaning was that we returned the foster kittens to the shelter yesterday. Feeling bittersweet about it, I took Azriel, Ike, Zeke, Miri, Debbie, Annie, Zara, Liza, Micah and mama Jessie to CBHS in the morning. Although we enjoyed watching them grow, learn and play, it was good timing that we returned them when we did. They are just shy of 7 weeks old, eating solid food, and they had made a mess of our guest bedroom in spite of my best efforts. Embarrassingly, within the last 30 hours, a few of them also somehow manifested what appeared to be ringworm (ringworm isn't a worm, it's a fungus, and it can be tracked in with dirt, or a person who had it, or whatever; so all our visitors made our kitten room like every single daycare.). The kittens will get cleaned up by the amazing vet techs at CBHS and hopefully find furr-ever homes very, very soon!
Meanwhile, while the kittens are receiving cleansing love, Steve and I pulled carpet and cleaned. Not to eradicate their presence, but to start new for whatever fun, wild, and probably dirty adventure is to come. As an aside, Lil P aka Panther is still with us.
The marathon is less than 5 weeks away! Time to get donating if you've been meaning to'!!!!! Donate here today! https://sites.google.com/site/runningtorescue/
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