cleanliness

ok.
i have tried. i have scolded. i have punished. i have threatened to take it away but how do you take away the bathroom?
ugh!
kristopher's bathroom is always on my list of things that make me cringe and get me worked up. it's right up there with spiders, snakes, daisy the skunk (that's another post for another day) and brussel sprouts (I HATE those little cabbages!!!). when i go into his bathroom, i have to control my temper, breathe slow and steady and hope that my blood pressure doesn't rise too quickly. it resembles a small disaster area on most days: clothes on the floor; paper towels on both the floor and the counter (the trash can is RIGHT THERE!!!); and the toothpaste never has the top on it. i refuse to look in the tub or the toilet until AFTER i have made him clean it for my 1st inspection. usually, i do 3 inspections of his bathroom after kristopher has "cleaned" it and each inspection reveals just a few more things that need to be done.
most days when i go upstairs, kristopher hears me coming and runs to the bathroom to at least get rid of all of the paper towels on the floor. he also kicks his dirty laundry into one of the closets right off the bathroom (where there is a nice laundry hamper/basket dutifully waiting for any and all dirty laundry). kristopher always hopes that i don't see any of this but this day was different. he wasn't home to do any of that! so i would get to see the bathroom in it's raw form.

inspection day:
kristopher was gone all day because of a basketball tournament (i was told that no other moms were going so i should stay home too) so this was the perfect time to do a walk through. even though i dreaded doing it because i knew that my blood pressure would rush up quickly, i walked slowly up the stairs anyway. with each step, i feared what i would see. the dogs and the cats beat me up the stairs and waited at the bathroom door. they already knew the routine and figured they would let me see it first before they went in.
the closer i got to the door, the worse i felt and i ALMOST relented going in but i did it anyway. i opened the door and expected the worst but guess what? it was CLEAN!!!!

i almost fainted.
there was no laundry; no paper; the toothpaste was in the holder and had the top on it. the shower curtain was actually inside the tub (which was clean); and the toilet was clean and flushed!!!
i looked around again and wondered if he had a hidden camera in there. how did he know that i would pick this day for my inspection? how did he clean it without my usual yelling and threatening? wow. this was amazing.

i shut the door and made a mental note not to say anything about my inspection. i will do a surprise inspection later in the week just to see if this is a fluke. this surely isn't going to be the norm is it? maybe being a teenager has put cleanliness right up there with coolness.
who knew?