Cleaning a Kid’s Bedroom or Creating Timeless Memories
Remembering that time the world stopped for a moment to show us its wonder.
One of my favourite experiences as a mom of five was The Cleaning of the Bedrooms. For years, I spent one Saturday after another with my butt parked on a stripped twin bed, directing the cleaning, disinfecting, and rearranging of one of my kids’ rooms. With music (their favourite playlists) on loud, and a pot of coffee at hand, we’d sift through the mess and end up with a fresh, clean, welcoming space, a happy — and connected — mom, and a proud and grateful child.
Sure, there were things I’d rather have been doing with each of my charges than cleaning a filth-filled chaotic disaster area, but there is no denying the emotional reward of spending an entire day with just one child, face to face, side by side. The walls come down and the words begin. Secrets are shared. Stories are told. Confidences are made.
Conversations that don’t happen in the five minutes after they get home, or the half hour before bed, or the handful of texts throughout the day, bubble to the surface and strengthen relationships in ways that are hard to describe.
You never know what to expect.
