Dignifying Dishwater

Growing up, my method of cleaning was taking all the hills of clothing on my floor and shoving them into my dresser, and then shoving whatever else I could under my bed. Needless to say, if one were to peer into the dismal abyss under my bed, a wide array of dust bunnies, clothing, books, papers, and perhaps another ecosystem(s), could probably have been found.

This pattern continued into college, where papers and notebooks constantly cluttered my dorm room. And then, I met HIM.

My future husband.

Opposites attract. My husband is one of the neatest people I know. Shirts are always neatly pressed and hung on his side of the closet- and even the medicine cabinet in his bathroom is immaculate and organized. He even enjoys the fine art of vacuuming. He is logical- a philosopher. He didn't believe that my messiness could be attributed to my artistic genius. (And lets be honest, I didn't quite believe this either!)

Needless to say, I've been striving to become neater since we have been married- and even more so since we've had our son. But lately, a sort of quasi-miracle has happened. I enjoy cleaning and organizing.

Now, for some reason, I've always found it easy to be organized in my professional life (when I was teaching...) But my home life was another story. I dreaded doing piles of laundry and scooping the litter-box. However, the chore that I have always detested the most was doing the dishes. Stacks of plates in the sink, bits of food that cling onto them and refuse to be scraped into the trash- you get the idea.

But lately, I've been thinking about the Blessed Mother and how she always completed the same tasks. How she cooked and cleaned everyday, and never complained- and what a gift this must have been to Our Lord and to St. Joseph. Little offerings of love given silently, and with humility. What a beautiful thing to contemplate- and how much sweeter it is when these things go unnoticed!

And so I'm thankful that I now have a little mortification to offer up to Jesus- and something I can do for my husband that will make him happy. It's amazing what an empty kitchen sink can accomplish, isn't it?