The Big Clean-Up

Is everybody sick? Not mentally, I mean physically. I know of at least six people who are either getting, suffering, or recovering from cold symptoms. Several factors contribute to the rise in illnesses. First, the weather is iffy. One moment it’s sixty degrees, and an hour later it’s forty degrees. That’s not a fun situation when we’re caught outside without the appropriate outerwear. Second, warmer temperatures help germs to linger, giving us more time to be infected. Third, the back-to-back holiday celebrations brought guests  together, facilitating the spread of germs. Check out these unwanted guests:
       

                                         https://youtu.be/1xuEowtB7qg

Nothing like a strong visual image to encourage cleanliness. Doesn’t that video make you want to wash your hands, cough into your arm, and carry around a pint of hand sanitizer gel? We know whatever lurks on our hands can lead to illnesses, but so can worry, stress, depression, hate, and unforgiveness. So how do we cleanse our hearts and minds?

The Dirty Truth

What do I dislike about housework? I’d say it’s the repetition. If the kitchen looks clean and the floor sparkles, turn your back to clean something else and within moments you’ll have a water-plashed sink and crumb-covered floors.  We should put a moratorium on our house. I’ll clean it from top to bottom and we’ll live elsewhere for several days. If you see the trees draped with yellow caution tape and a sign stuck to the front door that says: Just Cleaned! – Do Not Enter,  you’ll know what happened.

Not long ago my dear child watched as I emptied the dishwasher for what felt like the fiftieth time that day. My heart-warming moment came when I heard the precious words every mother longs to hear. I translated it as, “Mom, you’re so wonderful and I’m so grateful for all the hard work you do in our home.” In fact, the actual words were, “I feel bad for you.” I’ll accept that. Face it, we love to put our own spin on situations. Look at what happened in Texas:

                                       http://youtu.be/emPPKjyU_NI

The sign hackers thought their prank was funny, but local officials saw it as a public hazard.  It’s amazing how people can experience identical circumstances and arrive at totally different conclusions. For instance, consider the anchorwoman who responded on air to an email that criticized her appearance. When viewers commented, one person applauded
(yes!) the anchorwoman’s response, while another person called it “whiny.” What surprising comments have you heard in response to seemingly harmless statements or situations?