My Mother is Waging a War Against Dog Hair and is Currently Holding Steady

I have admitted defeat when it comes to dog hair in my home. My mother has not.

My parents arrived a few days ago and my mother, upon realizing her precious granddaughter was crawling and doubling as a sweeper, immediately issued a search and destroy order on all things on the floor, mainly the @$#%@$% dog hair. Although there is no need to search. The hair is here, there, and everywhere!

It’s not that I don’t try to engage the combatant dog hair. I do sweep, just not daily. I have recently determined that daily sweeping is necessary, but I have made peace with the fact that I will not actually sweep as required. Furthermore, I have accepted that I have dogs who shed, who I alternately love and hate, and who are part of our family dynamic and therefore cannot be “accidentally locked out”, “lost” on a walk, or advertised as “great with children”.

We deal with dog hair. We don’t wear black. We shake out everything and/or use a hair remover roller before stepping out of the house. I am trying to get into a routine of combing the dogs outside on a semi-regular basis. I have bought stock in Swifter.

Now back to my Mother. As I type this, I spy her walking around my living room, completely engrossed in her mission, once again sweeping up hair for the third time today. I do appreciate her efforts. I really do. I just don’t make the time nor have the desire to constantly sweep what I consider a losing battle. I want clean but not at the expense of my time to do other things. So I engage in battle every other day, or when I can’t stand the sight of it, or I know I have company coming over.

When will I develop the zen of cleaning? It seems a lot of older women have this calm about them when it comes to cleaning. My grandmothers, my mother, and my mother-in-law tap into their inner resolve and this unbelievable energy reserve to clean, especially when they are at my house (And seriously my house is not a pigsty. I do clean, but I won’t ever pass a white glove inspection. I follow the philosophy of “Good Enough” and “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” ). Maybe it’s an unspoken but understood job duty of motherhood. Mothers, once they are on visiting status, help out their grown children by cleaning. Hmmm….I don’t know, but I’ll take it. My workload seems lighter and life on the Home-front seems so much easier when my mother or mother-in-law visits.

However, on the flipside, my mother’s quest for cleanliness is sometimes very dangerous. She now has had two skirmishes that could have been catastrophic for the family. The latest comes on Day 1 of her visit. The whole house slumbered while she stayed up to attack the kitchen. She cleaned the stovetop and then thinking she had won went to bed. Somehow the pilot light on the gas stove went out. I woke up in the middle of the night to tend to Baby Girl and was immediately assaulted with the smell of gas. Hubby re-lit the pilot light. Crisis averted. I hate to think what would have happened if we had an undetected gas leak all night.

My Mom deserves a medal and accolades for her determination and focused concentration against the enemy. Today the battle against dog hair has been won. But tomorrow, who will admit defeat and who will stand victorious? Hair or hair-free?