It's like a hangover, only from Chinese food. Is this what it feels like to have your face injected with Botox? This is my welcoming party into the Fourth of July, the ensuing aftershock of the first 24 hours of visiting Filipino feeding-frenzied (albeit loving) parents. And it goes to show how critical it is to take good care of one's body and not passively let it go by the wayside.
Here's another illustration. On Saturday, my two housemates and I finally had enough. Though probably still habitable by many a young male's standards, we're big boys now and our apartment was mutually recognized as a filth (that's noun, not adjective). One time, I saw a single fly on the kitchen counter and tried to squash it... only to miss and watch it fly back in s l o w m o t i o n to its black hoard of a nest, which was right behind the backboard above our sink. After I swept the hardwood floors of the living room and dining room, you would have thought that we owned a big blue cat or something.
Anyway, after digging (err, not so deep it seems) I found my inner Mr. Mom and re-arranged the first floor with the help of the housemate. I picked up two area rugs from Target, cleaning supplies from Wal-mart, and having been disappointed with the selection of accent furniture at Home Goods, I settled on a simple yet elegant (e.g. it was cheap) coffee table at another Target. Now (I'm surprised to say), that the house (the general living space at least) is much more habitable—cozy even!
I have a greater appreciation now not for things just being clean, but for all the work that actually goes into it! (It was my friend's wife that put those words together for me, but it doesn't make it any less true.) My friend's wife cleans everyday; I'm guessing lots of moms do. Most guys including myself, however, will ask, "Why?"
The male train of thought will most likely rationalize, "Why do something everyday when you can hardly see a difference? I'd rather just let it go, tackle it when I can no longer stand it, and then feel like I accomplished something when it's finished." For a few things (i.e. cleaning the house), I can twistedly and knuckleheadly agree (however painful in the end) with the aforementioned rationale.
When it comes to health, people, and relationships though, a letting-it-go kind of mentality is simply foolish and downright destructive. God says that you should be taking care of your body, and loving others just as much—not putting it on the backburner and then taking care of it later. Take care of it (whatever that thing is) now.
Hm... I need to take care of something.
_____________________________________________
Here's another illustration. On Saturday, my two housemates and I finally had enough. Though probably still habitable by many a young male's standards, we're big boys now and our apartment was mutually recognized as a filth (that's noun, not adjective). One time, I saw a single fly on the kitchen counter and tried to squash it... only to miss and watch it fly back in s l o w m o t i o n to its black hoard of a nest, which was right behind the backboard above our sink. After I swept the hardwood floors of the living room and dining room, you would have thought that we owned a big blue cat or something.
Anyway, after digging (err, not so deep it seems) I found my inner Mr. Mom and re-arranged the first floor with the help of the housemate. I picked up two area rugs from Target, cleaning supplies from Wal-mart, and having been disappointed with the selection of accent furniture at Home Goods, I settled on a simple yet elegant (e.g. it was cheap) coffee table at another Target. Now (I'm surprised to say), that the house (the general living space at least) is much more habitable—cozy even!
I have a greater appreciation now not for things just being clean, but for all the work that actually goes into it! (It was my friend's wife that put those words together for me, but it doesn't make it any less true.) My friend's wife cleans everyday; I'm guessing lots of moms do. Most guys including myself, however, will ask, "Why?"
The male train of thought will most likely rationalize, "Why do something everyday when you can hardly see a difference? I'd rather just let it go, tackle it when I can no longer stand it, and then feel like I accomplished something when it's finished." For a few things (i.e. cleaning the house), I can twistedly and knuckleheadly agree (however painful in the end) with the aforementioned rationale.
When it comes to health, people, and relationships though, a letting-it-go kind of mentality is simply foolish and downright destructive. God says that you should be taking care of your body, and loving others just as much—not putting it on the backburner and then taking care of it later. Take care of it (whatever that thing is) now.
Hm... I need to take care of something.
_____________________________________________
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