cleaning

this morning I've been cleaning things. rag, warm water, soap, elbow grease.
and since I was on a roll, cleaning things, I decided to throw my bike into the melee, and get it cleaned up as well.
I have been terribly neglectful of my bike. I rode it on december 19th, and then again on january 30, and those were probably the only 2 times I touched it after november. both those rides were on roads thick with grit, cinders, and rivulets of melting snow, so it probably won't take much use of your imagination to picture what the underside of my bike looked (and felt) like. not to mention the chain, thick with dirty black grease.

the impetus to throw my bike in with the other to-be-cleaned items: an upcoming visit to the bike shop. because it's time to finally install two of my fabulous Christmas presents that have been leaning against my office wall for the last 7 weeks: new wheels.
which adds pressure to my biking, as they are supposed to make me faster. cool.
but what if they don't?
what if power camp doesn't make me one bit stronger/better/faster?
what if I'm still old clump along me?

at least I'll have a clean bike?

I was cleaning things to give them away. some of jake's things, some things that will be able to help someone else. his car seat, his wheelchair, a few other things. things that I didn't worry so much about cleaning until it was time to give them to someone else.
what does this say about me?
that I don't clean things until I know that other people will see them?

what it really says, I suppose, is that I'm doing my best. and that life is so very full of Things That Need To Be Done.
that even though I want to live in a spotless house and drive a shiny clean car and have a bike in tip-top-tuned-and-cleaned shape, it just is not going to be that way. I will at times, feel caught up and ahead of the game, and at times operate in a Tackle What Needs To Be Done Now manner of triage.
and more often than not, this latter kind of system works.
because as much as I like to be prepared, some things in life you can never prepare for.
and as much as I wish I could, I can't make my kids' school lunches two days ahead of time.
some things just have to be done at the time they need to be done.

thus jake's cleaned car seat and other things were ready to go when they were picked up.
and my bike is clean and ready to go to the shop.
dinner plans are made, I have gas in the car to get my girls to their piano lessons,
and tomorrow morning, I will make lunches for my kids to take with them to school.

then during the day tomorrow, I will tackle whatever needs to be tackled.