Sitting on my bedroom floor, cleaning the room one little piece of memorabilia at a time, armed with a trash bag, a paper bag for recycling, and a trash bag for Goodwill, I sort slowly, methodically.  After several hours, another section of the room is clean, and my kids come in to help and also see if they want any of the unearthed treasures. 

I take a pause from listening to my music to realize that the kids are actually cleaning their rooms without me asking. 

I have spent eleven years telling my kids to clean their rooms to their groaning.  

Here, just by cleaning my own mess and celebrating the order and more room to breathe, they are cleaning, celebrating, and reimagining their space.  

I am truly loving Sasha’s room and I reward her with more diy supplies and colorful LED lights.  Andy and Mitya’s room is progressing more slowly but moving in the right direction.  All because of what?  They saw me teaching through my own actions.  

Just as a side note, I would rather go on yet another excursion or walk along the river than clean.  I hate being inside the house all day.  But trying to be a good steward means to me that I need to sit and do something inside these walls instead of constantly trying to escape on yet another adventure.  Or even trying to help someone else when really I should be at home organizing my own stuff.

Here I am throwing out more trash. Here’s stuff for Goodwill we drop off.  Here’s a dress for the cleaners.  Here’s yet another bag of recycling.

By Thursday—trash day— the trash bins outside are overflowing.  I have a routine on Thursday wherein the first thing I do in the morning is take the trash to the curb.  Our trash is usually picked up at 10:30 so I have gotten in the habit of putting it out that same morning.  

Well, it doesn’t take me long to figure out that the trash has already been picked up for the day.  

I call the trash company and a woman calls back to say there was a sub because the man who usually picks up our trash is on vacation.  The sub came much earlier than usual.  I ask if there is any way for someone to pick it up later today or tomorrow (and I set a reoccurring alarm for Wednesday night to put the trash out).  She says she will put in an order and there is no guarantee, but the trash may be picked up the following day. So put it out at night and I do.  

I am sure my neighbors think I have the days mixed up when I have the trash out on Friday.  How embarrassing!  At least they don’t see me in my house on my knees literally praying for the trash pickup person to come.  

While that is happening, a store comes to pick up my refrigerator that is not working.  However, apparently my new fridge is on another truck.  I talk to my landlord and she says it’s okay to give them the fridge because the new one is going to arrive soon.  

Hours go by without a refrigerator.

It was so frustrating to have been cleaning the entire week and then be surrounded by spoiling food, waiting on a fridge that’s supposed to come any second now.

Just when I truly think I am going to lose my mind, my friend offers to take my kids swimming (I cannot go anywhere because I have to wait for this new fridge to make its triumphant entrance).  I say “Sure!” and “thank you!” And soon the kids are off on their great swimming adventure.  

The cats and I watch Kevin Hart banter with his friend Don Cheadle.  I read articles about the devastating situation in Afghanistan.  I think about the new ESL students we will have.  I think about my Afghani friend who is more like a sister than a friend.  I feel so sad. I do not know what to do or how I can help other than welcoming and doing my best to teach our new arrivals.  

I glimpse outside, and I start praying Psalms for the trash man to come.  I put out more trash because now some food is not looking so hot (fine for me, but God forbid the kids eat it).  The lady from the trash company calls to say the trash pickup people usually go home by 2pm.  

It’s now 2pm.  

I look outside at the enormous amount of trash and literally start to cry.  

But at 2:06, I hear the most joyous sound.  The trash pickup gentleman came after all!  I offer him all my trash stickers as a thank you but he says, “it’s fine, don’t worry, I don’t live in Charlottesville.”  I am so happy I call the trash company to say thank you!  It’s funny how the people you took for granted suddenly become heroes.

Eventually I fall asleep and wake up to realize the kids are back but there is still no fridge.  I thank my friend and I call the store and find out actually no one is coming because—without any reason—someone moved the delivery date.  The man on the line promises that the fridge will be there the next day, for sure. “I am sorry,” he says. I tell the kids, “The fridge is not coming today, so let’s go walk around somewhere.”  We end up walking around Barracks Road, eat Chipotle, and come home and watch Vivo, which everyone liked.  The kids are exhausted from swimming and we all fall asleep soon after.

I wake up in the morning to a call from my caring and concerned landlord. “The fridge is on its way!” Its 7:30am and I get up and get ready to greet the fridge.  Almost 24 hours since the removal of his brother, the new fridge stands proudly in our kitchen.  I take the kids to tae kwon do hoping the fridge actually works.  

It does!  The water in the ice tray has frozen.

And soon the house actually looks normal again.  In fact, thanks to Nella’s help, it looks better because the fridge is super clean and organized (mainly because there’s almost no food in there lol). In fact,  it would never have looked so good had I not gone through the fridge fiasco.

We go shopping and check off items on the shopping list.  Getting home right before the storm, we put away all the groceries, I start cooking, and the kids find Sing.  The movie is perfect.  The kids talk to their cousin and everyone washes.  No one wants to go to sleep (so much excitement! New fridge!) but eventually the kids do. 

I finish the book Run to the Roar and think. . . it feels good to be home!

And now it’s time to go back to work and start the organizing process for my classroom!  🙂

Prayers:

Let me have patience and trust and faith, God, knowing you have my best in mind.  

Thank you so much for family and friends who come through!  Help me be that type of friend.  

And help me appreciate people who I often overlook.  Help me see them with fresh eyes and enormous gratitude!