Getting It Done
Today was crazy productive, even though I slept until almost 9:00. I made coffee and drew water then did a load of wash (as many clothes as the water can take before turning orange and drawing its cleaning powers into question). Then I washed all the dishes left over from Christmas while hosting a dance party on the porch. I drank a second cup of coffee and made a “Done is Good” list for the week. First on the list: clean bathroom.
I went crazy scrubbing paint splatters off the sink and dust off the floor. I don’t know if K will notice, but I felt very accomplished. There is something about cleaning that I find immensely satisfying. I think it’s the instant gratification: it was dirty and now it’s not. The house is starting to feel like more of a home. More things have a place and fewer things are just heaped on the floor.
After I finished the bathroom I scrubbed the floor in the hall and that was a chore. I could do about two square feet before having to change the water. I felt like Cinderella, down on my knees with my little rag, but again it was very satisfying. I’ll try to do more tomorrow. (Right now there’s a big line right where I stopped.) After over six hours of cleaning I decided I deserved a break. I hadn’t eaten anything but coffee and bananas all day so I decided to go get pepper soup.
I changed my clothes and walked to the club. No food. “The workload was too much,” Nelson said, “so we didn’t cook today.” I thanked him and said I’d try Maima’s. I was just there yesterday, though, so I decided to go home and make beans. I bought a cold drink at the Small Shop and some bread. I really didn’t feel like cooking, but I needed to eat and beans don’t require much attention. I cleaned them and threw in some onion, garlic, and peppa.
All that was left was to wait so I sat down with Ma Ellen’s book. I started it a week or two ago and Wow. So many people in this country need to read it! After reading for a few hours the power came on and I worked on grade sheets until it went off around 10:30. I will sleep like a rock.