Home on the Range

Yesterday the Nasty One complained as usual. It was 2 pm and she has whisked her boyfriend up to her room quickly, like she was embarrassed for him to be there. What's up with that? Why are you bringing plates of food to your room? Why can't he eat with the rest of us in the dining area? She was like "You're not like other mothers. You never wash the floors or clean the bathroom (she's right, I make them do it). "All my friend's mothers work and clean and give their kids money." Hubby broke in with "Of course she's not like other mothers. She's busy bringing peace to the world. Leave her alone." It was a dig, but a rather nice dig. Straightening up the house, washing dishes, cooking and shopping are mine. All mine. It's true that most Israeli women spend their entire free day on Friday cleaning silly things like their baseboards and window sills and wash their floors using a method called "sponga". No mops. You throw a ton of water with alot of chemical cleaner all over the floors until they are absolutely flooded and sweep the water outside with a rubber thing on a broom handle that looks like a huge window wiper. When I first came to this country, I searched high and low for a mop and found it in one store in Jerusalem. But replacements were difficult to come by so I relegated this dirty task to my assimilated children. You wanna be Israeli - you do sponga.