Coming Clean

Give me warmth, indeed. That was the title of my last post, except for that latter word, and boy, did Mother Nature deliver giving us almost 80-degree weather in February, so odd that it confused the daffodils and cherry blossoms into blooming! Now, it's March and although not quite spring yet, the warm weather is much more seasonable and so comes with that, spring cleaning. I've always questioned this urge to clean when the weather becomes nice out. You would think one should want to clean in the wintertime when they are bundled up in warm houses, out of the cold with nothing else to do. Of course when bundled up so nice and cozy with loved ones, namely the dog peacefully curled up sleeping at your feet, who can really stand to move and wake him. Not me. And so, spring cleaning it is.

I got this so-called spring cleaning urge yesterday when finishing some last touches at the house before everyone arrived for Wyatt's party. I was steam cleaning the kitchen floor, (which by the way if any of my crawling or toddling baby mama's out there don't already have one of these...run, run, run to the store to get one, it is amazing! No more nasty mops, buckets, or mop water to contend with and you don't have to worry about harmful chemicals because it steams and sterilizes with hot water alone. Most importantly, it is lightweight and so easy to use that you can use it every day). But as I was saying, I was steam cleaning the kitchen floor when I noticed that my cleaner didn't quite get into the corners of the underside of the cabinets, you know where those stray bread crumbs run to hide after you've made the kid's lunches the night before school? So, there I was, down on my knees with a wet paper towel wiping down these corners....

In the middle of writing this blog I found out that someone that I used to know passed away after an almost 6 year battle with breast cancer. I'm completely heartbroken at hearing this unfortunate news. I didn't know her terribly well, in fact, I met her through my old boss who introduced me to Silpada jewelry, and in turn, to Tara, who was very successful in the company. I got together with Tara several times hosting parties for her in my home. One of those times she brought two of her daughters, both just as sweet and lovely as she was. She hoped to recruit me as a representative working under her and while I was interested, the timing just wasn't right. Tara was an incredibly genuine person, her smile infecting anyone it came in contact with. Happy, my old boss and I used to playfully joke about how she always answered her phone, with a cheerful and emphatic "HI Christy!!!" She was pure sunshine, the kind of person we can all only hope to be in this lifetime and yet I find it so dishearteningly unfair that she had to leave this earth, her husband, and four beautiful girls behind while other people, horrible people like Michael Vick and Scott Peterson, are allowed to share the same air we breathe.

In saying all of this, I originally intended this blog to be about cleaning or coming clean, as it were, an idea that just seems so trivial now, petty even. With Tara in mind, I think I'll leave the last of those bread crumbs in the corner of my kitchen floor to congregate with their families for a little while longer. I can clean another day. I want to spend a little extra time with my family...time that is so incredibly precious. You should do the same, dear reader. Rest in peace, sweet Tara.