Polished Baseboards

When the kitchen renovating finally came to a quiet end, our contractor provided a cleaning lady for four free hours. Dust was everywhere! Putting things away and clean was a much bigger job than we had realized.

Following her work, both Bob and I were floored to look at the floor. She had gone down to hands and knees to insure cleanliness. Dirt hidden in grooves and cracks could not elude her work. Glass shelves sparkled. I know my homemaker skills are just slightly higher than any athletic skills (or lack thereof) but this was amazing. We had a different cleaning crew before, but their work was not even comparable.

We needed to keep this new cleaning guru. So we hired her, and her college-aged son, to come on Saturday morning. Bob stayed home while I went to church for a Stephens meeting. He wondered why they were taking so long in our bedroom. My hubby heard vacuuming and movement, so he knew they hadn’t stopped for a quick snooze. After two hours, his curiosity won. As he looked in our door, he couldn’t believe his eyes. They had pulled out our bed and vacuumed underneath. How many people even attempt to capture all those dust bunnies (and magazines, socks and dog toys)? The dust had to be at least nine inches deep. They cleaned and organized everything under our bathroom sink. I’m usually afraid to even open those cabinet doors. Both dressers sat away from the walls to rescue lost items that had fallen behind the furniture. A whole barrel of lost and found items quickly accumulated. Of course as long as these furniture items were pulled from the walls, they vacuumed and dusted. Who does that? Even the baseboards were polished. I didn’t know baseboards ever met wood polish.

Teresa, our new angel, didn’t want any praise. She humbly said that these activities were just parts of her job. She cleaned. Today’s homeowners don’t have time for these tasks. Time with family and church should be more important. Her son simply stated that his mom was a cleaning “professional”. She took pride in her work, but everyone should be proud of his work. Do things always to the best of one’s ability.

After only one visit, she quickly knew the way to Bob’s heart and brought him homemade sausage and some strong Polish vodka. Besides wanting items clean, she believes personal bonds between people need to be strengthened. Strengthen away! Bob will take any homemade goodies if that helps her character. (What a wonderful hubby I have!)

That’s part of the philosophy for my long-awaited journey tomorrow. I head back to Mayo for three and a half weeks of hard work as I do my part in fighting my pain. The medical staff are the experts. I’ll listen to their advice after I check out their baseboards.

The next weeks bring many wonderful events: no dust under the bed. new physical therapy exercises, a long trip to Rochester, extended absence from Bob (and Einstein) and polished baseboards. Everyone is doing his or her part. Please accept your job of praying for wisdom, serenity, knowledge and patience. (You could probably forget that patience part. I’m a hopeless candidate under that category.) When people work together, God accomplishes amazing miracles through the use of our arms, legs and hearts. Thanks for all your work.

Today’s advantage of the Mighty Three

• · You get to be the recipient of many prayers.