Spring cleaning? Seriously?

I've quoted my grandma often on this blog; she was an inspiration to many and I recall her fondly. One thing that we could count on each year was a time-honored ritual that was affectionately known as "spring cleaning."
Our weather has been see-sawing between winter and spring here, and my thoughts have often landed on this phrase.

Spring cleaning was WAY different from the normal, weekly cleaning that took place on many a Saturday..... it was more than dusting and vacuuming and straightening up.
It was WAR!
An all-out assault on a year's worth of dirt and dust and clutter!
Did your family do this too?
I was never sure how the date for spring cleaning was arrived at. It was a mystery to all but grandma. I think maybe there was a little alarm that went off in her head or something. Everything would be going smoothly and suddenly we would hear her say that next Saturday, we all needed to pitch in....it was time for spring cleaning!
Sometimes we littles would spend Friday night at her house, to be ready to attack the tasks in the morning.  Grandma would cook us a nice, big breakfast, and then as soon as that was cleaned up, she would assign our tasks.  Floors were to be mopped (and then waxed, remember doing that?), all the blinds were to be cleaned one slat at a time, then the windows washed, and even the screens taken down and cleaned. Rugs were pulled outside and put across the laundry line, and pounded to get the dust out of them. The oven was cleaned; the furniture polished; the screen porch cleansed of pollen; and more washing and drying of sheets and comforters happened that Saturday than any other day of the year!

We would go to work, eagerly at first, wanting to please her. As the day wore on, we'd get tired and not work as quickly. But by the end of the day, no matter how tired we were, or how much we had complained about doing the jobs, we would be so proud of how nice everything looked! The whole house had a spring-time freshness and was a much nicer place to be!

Now, lest you think that this trip down memory lane has no real purpose, I will assure you that the next two weeks when we explore this, we will find some practical applications!

For the time being, please re-read chapter two of the gospel of John, so that we are all ready for our studies!

See ya next time!