Thank you minimalism!

The plague hit our home this week.  That may be being slightly dramatic, but not by much.  My kids have never been this sick.  My two year old had a fever for 5 days.  The Dr. tested him for influenza and it came back negative.  Not pneumonia and not strep throat.  We were told it was an acute virus and we would just have to wait it out. When kids are sick they just want to be held, cuddled, snuggled, rocked, and held some more.  That's what I did all week.  I am not accustomed to that.  My two year old is so independent, he has been known to sit on puzzle pieces just so I cannot help him.  But my independent little buddy wasn't so independent this week.  And as I held him, I watched my home get less and less clean.  There was toothpaste on the sink when I used the bathroom.  There was a sticky spot from juice on the kitchen floor.  There were tissues stacked by the trashcan where little hands had missed the target.  And I could feel my anxiety rising.  I didn't clean a thing for 5 days. 


And then my little buddy felt better.  On his fifth day of having a fever it broke.  That evening he played hide and seek, he let me help him with three puzzles and we played a game of Break the Ice.  I began to feel a little excited at the idea that I would be able to restore my house the next day.  (I am only slightly OCD.)  Sure enough, the next day, my independent boy was back to playing on his own.  And I cleaned.  I wiped down the bathrooms.  I wiped down the stove and the floors.  I picked up trash.  I vacuumed.  And I did it all in a matter of 2 hours.  I had not cleaned for 5 days, and I could restore my home in 2 hours!  That is not a testament to me.  That is a testament to minimalism.  Thank you minimalism!  Thank you for making my life easier, my home cleaner and my anxiety less.