Despite our best efforts, at times it seems as if we are on the losing side of a natural disaster in a room. Gazing at the aftermath, I often wonder what destructive force Mother Nature unleashed in my daughter’s room. The ominous signs of water damage made me realize this could lead to a serious mold problem. In those tough times, I knew I needed to seek professionals well-versed in water damage restoration and Atlanta mold testing to ensure our home remained a safe haven.
Nevaeh lending a hand, in fog, after a tornado took off the neighbor’s roof.
I don’t know how it happens. It’s as if a horde of gremlins is unleashed a night, tossing baby-doll clothes and pink feathery things all about.
I go in to her room some mornings, and wonder what may be hidden amongst the mountain of stuffed animals. Would I even want to know?
I long for the day when we are in an RV, as having Nevaeh clean her room is an ongoing battle. In an RV she’ll be limited to the few things that she really enjoys, and plays with routinely. Plus, I could always throw out something about weight capacity and towing safety to squash any ideas of adding more stuff to the mix.
But for now, we’re still stationary, in our house. Nevaeh has her own room, and we give her a bit of slack with what takes place in her room. But, she does have to keep it clean.
She’ll get it clean, all tidy and pretty looking, and it will stay that way for about 12-24 hours. Then, it looks as if a cat. 3 hurricane tore through the place, rendering any semblance of order and balance non-existent.
That’s when I have to step in and make the dreaded It’s time to clean your room declaration.
Here’s how a typical clean-your-room scenario unfolds:
Me: Alright kiddo, I need you to take the next 30 minutes and clean your room. (3:00)
Nevaeh: Awwwww! I just cleaned it the other day. Why do I always have to clean my room?
Because, your stuff is all over the place, and it doesn’t look clean anymore.
Oooooh kaaaay!
. . .
Daddy, do I have to put my clothes away? (3:10)
Yes, Nevaeh. That’s part of cleaning your room.
. . .
Daddy, come look at my Barbies, they’re all dressed up. (3:20)
Is that what you’ve been doing for the last 20 minutes? You need to get started on your room so you have free-time this afternoon.
. . .
Nevaeh, how are things coming? [enter room] What have you been doing? (3:30)
I put my stuffed animals on the bed. [which in now messier than before]
You need to pick up your room. These stuffed animals don’t go on your bed.
. . .
Daddy, look at Simba (our cat), he’s snuggled up in all my blankets. I can’t clean this area with him right here. (3:45)
You can clean everything else. Simba isn’t on your bed, near your Barbies, by your dolls, at your vanity, or in the closet . . . clean those up please.
. . .
Daddy, it’s going to take me all day! [very dramatic] Why can’t I just leant it the way it was? (4:00)
If you would have been cleaning, instead of playing around, you would already be done.
But daddy, it’s just not fair. You’re not cleaning you and Mommy’s room.
And why do you think that is?
[pouty face] Because you pick things up all the time when your done with them.
. . .
Daddy, I’ve been doing this all day! Can I put my clothes away tomorrow? (4:30)
. . .
Daddy! Mommy’s home, and I haven’t seen her all day. Can’t I stop cleaning? (5:15)
. . .
Yup, I’m a sucker for Mommy-Daughter time. That’s about when her cleaning marathon will end. Fortunately, I’ve found that if we do this little song-and-dance once a week things remain manageable. When we don’t have time to clean, I’ll call CleaningPRO Wellington and they’ll make the house spotless.
I sometimes fantasize about an intense, localized fire. That might make me a bad father, but I think I’d earn brownie points for putting it out before it does any structural damage.