Sunny
It’s cold, so I didn’t go outside all day. I might as well go into hibernation as it is.
In the past, the 30th was the day for cleaning up at my parents’ house. From the entrance to the warehouse, to the ceiling, we would clean every corner of the house.
Naturally, as a child, I would also help. That is why I felt depressed every year on this day. If I cut corners, I would be scolded, and if I took it seriously, there was no end to it. I had to do it until it passed the mother’s standard. It was exhausting.
And what made it worse was the arguments that usually broke out between the couple.
It starts with, “If you don’t want to do it, don’t do it,” followed by, “You’re doing it,” “This is enough already.
Then they start a full-fledged cleaning argument, starting with “If you don’t want to do it, don’t do it,” followed by “I’m doing it,” “That’s enough,” “It’s not clean at all,” “Why do you clean when it gets dirty so easily,” and “That’s the way it should be. As I wiped the windows with my cold hands amidst the angry voices, I felt like running away from home, because I was so disgusted with the situation.
Finally, at the end of the day, I reached a point where I had done my best anyway. The rest of the time, he would continue mumbling to himself until his mother was satisfied, until just before the bell rang.
Then one year, the father said, “Instead of calling it a big cleanup on the 30th, let’s do it evenly over the year. Not a big cleanup, but a small cleanup. It would be easier, he thought.
The following year, however, the father did not take on his assigned role for whatever reason, and the mother and children ended up cleaning the ceiling, closets, etc. from January.
However, this was much easier than the depressing day of 30 days of domestic awkwardness, even though I was dissatisfied with the father who did nothing.
The system was designed to prioritize peace in the home over “minor cleaning instead of major cleaning,” a regular custom. Decades later, this system would be introduced in my family and my sister’s house. I am sure this kind of thing happens in every family.
At the end of the year, quarrels between husband and wife become a regular occurrence.
