My mother cleaned houses most of her life. Sometimes full-time, sometimes part-time, sometimes as a second or third job, but my whole youth was filled with those memories. As a child, I often went on jobs with her. As a young child, it was positively mystical. They were strange, new places filled with wonder at every turn.

When I was old enough, I had a clean rag and lemon oil placed in my hands, and I was set to dusting furniture. I find it amusing, in retrospect, how children can't actually see dirt. It's kind of like color-blindness. It simply isn't there. So I would finish, and she would come by and check my work, and then with lots of love she would point to the invisible dirty spots I missed and have me clean it again.

Now, I am an adult and have cleaning jobs of my own. However, what amazes me most of all were the things that I never realized my mother was teaching me. There was more to learn than just what cleaners to use on what surfaces, what order to clean a room in, and how to "see" dirt. It was about learning to see a clean home hiding inside every dirty home. It was about building a reverence and respect for people's things and their privacy. Most of all, I learned that wherever you go and whatever you do, leave things a little better than how you found them.

The amazing thing is that these lessons don't only apply to cleaning houses. I have learned to see beautiful people inside a bad day. I still have a respect for people, their things, and their privacy no matter where I am. Whether it's the room I'm in or a person I'm talking to, I always try to leave them a little better than how I found them. Thanks mom!

Daelin Lunaeri

http://www.acresgreenhelp.com