So after the birth of my second child I had a meltdown. Sitting in my living room surrounded by toys, swings, swaddles, little wads of wrapped-up dirty diapers that I just hadn't quite gotten into the trash, I began to cry.
My husband (who, through a series of work-related circumstances had probably been clinically depressed for months, and who had definitely been clinically unhelpful) asked me what was wrong.
"It's just not supposed to be like this," I told him "it's not supposed to be this hard. The house is a disaster. I'm exhausted. M (our older daughter) has been an unruly ball of energy. And you are hardly interested in your son, nevertheless helping me." He began to deny it but we both knew it was true.
Then and there we decided to hire a housecleaner. The process itself invigorated me - I put an ad on craigslist, asked friends and interviewed five different housekeepers. We settled on one and now, every other Wednesday, she descends upon us.
I leave for work like normal.
But when I return the smell of *clean* greets me. The floors are not sticky. No cheerios find the balls of my feet. The bathtub has no mildew stains. The bathroom sink is clean. Clean.
I feel calm. I feel organized. I feel successful. Almost as if I did it all myself but the best part is I DIDN"T!
I can't recommend this enough to other parents who are trying to keep it together. Whatever you have to do to afford this little luxury - do it. I'm lucky to live in a place where I can get this bi-weekly service for a mere $40 but it would be worth much more. I haven't cleaned a toilet in months. And I love it.
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