I Suck At Power Washing

I'll admit it. On Sunday, I was feeling a little selfish.

It goes without saying that Karen is more of the social butterfly than I am. More often than naught, she will have plans, leaving me to watch the kids. As much as I love my two wonderful daughters, I do occasionally need a break from them and Sunday was that break... of sorts.

On Sunday, Karen had plans for lunch. Rather than watch the kids, I asked if she could take them to her parents for a little while. After all, I wanted to do something that I had been putting off for some time: power wash the house. I guess you can say that I suck at power washing.

One of the things that I have learned while being a parent is that time just disappears. By the time I come home from work, feed the kids, give them baths, get them ready for bed, etc., the day is over. The only free time I generally have is in the morning before the kids wake up or the wee hours of night after they sleep (and hopefully stay asleep).

So most likely, running a motor to power wash a house is probably not going to happen in the morning or in the wee hours of night unless I want to be "that neighbor" that no one likes.

Luckily for me, Karen's parents were available on Sunday to watch our kids. As a result, I was able to power wash the house while Karen maintained her lunch plans. Not only was I able to power wash the house, I was able to clean the grill, rake the leaves, do laundry, and vacuum the house. Sure, these tasks seem so trivial. But when time disappears and the house plummets into disarray, every little thing helps.

Needless to say, despite my selfish behavior on Sunday, I felt good having accomplished so many things around the house. Granted, the state of cleanliness will most likely last only a few minutes (until my children return), but nonetheless it was good.

I Suck At Power Washing

On Wednesday, I did probably the most productive thing all week: I worked on the house. I am currently in-between jobs. I don't start my new job until Monday. And I left my previous place of employment on Friday. So I have been off the entire week. Unfortunately, the work never stops when you are raising a two year old (Briana) and a newborn daughter (Bridget).

This past Wednesday, my mother-in-law came down for a visit. Luckily for me, she decided to take Briana out for a walk around the neighborhood. Consequently, that left me ample time to finally do something productive this week: power wash the house. Now, I suck at power washing.

My house desperately needed a good washing. Dirt and green slime were beginning to climb up the vinyl siding. Heck, my friends (Dolores and Loser Tom) even noticed the filth that was on the outside of the house when they had visited on Saturday.

It's weird how raising two children seems to suck the time away. Needless to say, with the free time thanks to my in-laws, I power washed the house. It felt fantastic to actually get something accomplished other than changing dirty diapers, doing laundry, giving baths, or getting breakfast, lunch and dinner ready for the kids. Granted, I was absolutely soaked from washing the house. Mental note: wear a rain jacket the next time. As well, do not spray the hose upward above your head because the water will come back down.

All in all, it was a great day.