Life is becoming more and more hectic these days. With kids, drop-offs and pick-ups at multiple schools, carpools (which has its own issues), after school sports, playdates, multiple jobs, cooking, cleaning…sometimes life seems like a horror-movie hallway, a hamster wheel, a treadmill from hell – pick your favorite craze-inducing analogy.
Every once in a while, everyone reaches their “Calgon take me away” tipping point. Often that means needing help to regain some measure of control and sanity.
I’ll let you in on a little secret. I recently discovered the best doctor for working out some of my messes.
Some of the benefits this doctor offers are: stress release services, taking my mind off of things for at least half a day at a time (sometimes a full day), giving me a bit of a workout, always available and never requires reservations. You can see this doctor no matter where you live, and did I mention you don’t need insurance and it typically cost only about $50 per session?
“What sorcery is this?” you may be asking yourself.
Cleansing Therapy
Let me first explain by saying that this is, in no way, a paid advertisement for any product or service. This is based on an experience that I had recently, one that was very… cleansing.
See, the doctor that provided this experience was the Rug Doctor. Yes, the ubiquitous red carpet-cleaning machine that you can rent from nearly any grocery, home improvement or hardware store. The same one that you probably walk right past weekly without a second glance. Again – this is not a paid advertisment and I was not compensated by the Rug Doctor company in any way shape or form.
It just really hit the spot one day and I think other parents could benefit as well.
I have three kids, each of whom come with all of the school, sports and extracurricular requirements mentioned above. My days are filled with working, running errands, Mr. Mom/Uber-ing all over LA, cooking, cleaning…basically every minute filled – just like almost every other hard-working parent. Last week I realized the area rugs in our house were in desperate need of shampooing. I began to feel down about how things always felt like they were so out of control that I couldn’t even clean my rugs. I had a rare free half-day, so I went to see the good doctor.
What a Difference a Day Makes
The results, both to my house and psyche, were immediate. With the initial emptying of the near black, dirty water collected after the first pass over our living room rug, I realized how cathartic and satisfying this was. There was something redemptive about the process. Filling the machine over and over with clean water. Emptying container after container of various shades of black/dark grey nasty water.
As I became occupied with the process, I focused less and less on all the thoughts that float in and out of one’s mind. The sort of things that stack up, creating stress, receded into the background. At the same time, the machine isn’t all that light, and getting a deep clean requires some muscle, so while my mind get a break, my body was getting quite a workout. Win, win!!
As the used water began to get lighter and lighter, so did my mood. After cleaning my sofa and chairs (oh yeah, don’t forget the furniture attachment), I felt great. I got rid of stains that had long taunted me and walked bare-footed on carpet that was soft and cushy, not crusty and matted.
Everybody’s life gets a little out of control these days. Life can become complicated and dirty. Obviously, many people have problems and concerns that will not be cured simply by cleaning their rugs. For those in real need, there are many qualified mental health professionals and support groups.
But for me, for a few days at least, I had regained control over one little piece of my life, got a sense of satisfaction over a job well done, gave my mind a break and my body some exercise.
Good doctor, indeed.
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