Why My Floor is Never Clean

Alice

The last day of school before winter break, I knew I had my last chance to clean the floor. My floor extends from the front door all the way to the back door, through the kitchen, and to the garage. It is a porous tile, which sucks up all the dirt and gets darker over time. Although I sweep it daily and damp mop it a few times a week, the only way to get it looking clean is to use a three-in-one wax, which cleans, whitens, and protects in one step. It sounds easy, but there are a number of prerequisites to be met before I start.

1. The kids can’t be home.
2. The baby must be napping.
3. The husband cannot pay me a surprise lunch visit.
4. The dog cannot request to go in or out.
5. The phone cannot ring.
6. The front door bell cannot ring.

I start as soon as I have the baby down for her nap. I put the dog out, remove all loose furniture from the floor, sweep, and make sure I have all personal items within reach so I don’t have to backtrack over the wax: glass of water, telephone, etc.

This Friday, everything goes wrong with my plan. I have everything prepped to do the actual job, when my husband comes home for lunch. The baby is talking up a storm over the monitor; I don’t think she is going to nap.

I hang out in the living room, impatiently. “You know I love you, honey, but I’m kind of on a time table here. Do you think you’ll be leaving soon?”

He grabs his sandwich, kisses me, and runs out. He’s in a hurry too.

I wet my mop, pour out the solution, and start. I realize I’m low on solution and must really stretch it to cover the whole floor. Then the phone rings. I have to walk on the wet floor. It’s nobody. I cover my tracks and continue.

The dog is jumping on the door. I ignore her.

The doorbell rings. I look out the front window. It’s just a package. The delivery man leaves it there and departs.

Finally, I have reached the front door. The baby is yelling, “Tissue!” which means she wants her nose wiped.

I run up the stairs. I’ll keep busy up there for the next 20 minutes, while the floor dries. Then the kids will be home for winter break, covering the floor with several new layers of dirt.

“Who can say, “I have made my heart clean, I am cleansed of my sin”?
Proverbs 20:9