I finally broke up with my girlfriend. we hav been going on and off for the last couple of weeks. But we hit the big bump this past weekend. Her daughter kept calling her while we were at a party. A party with her friends and coworkers. I finally lost it and told her to stay off the phone and just have fun. That her daughter did not need to be in contact with her every five minutes. This led to a fight and a showdown. She would not control her daughter and I would not settle for having a fourteen year old control our relationship. At an impasse, we decided to call it off. I’m not happy about it. I really did like her but it had to be done. I know it just would have gotten worse in the future.

I am still hopeful. I am not sure she is truely finished. Let’s see what happens in the next few days.

But I digress.

What I am really going to write about is what she made me do that I really appreciate. She told me to clean my apartment. And when I say clean I mean spotless. See, I took a Friday off and decided I should clean up a bit. When I told her this, she said she wante it spotless and that she would check on me. I took this as a challenge. And off I went.

I started with the bedroom. I picked up all the clothes from the floor and put them away. I changed the sheets and vacuumed. I cleaned all of the surfaces and actually threw away crap that I just never got around to. The room looked great.

Then to the bathroom. This was a challenge. First, the bathtub. Oh my God! It looked like a science experiment. I started out with 409 cleaner and finished with bleach. I cleaned the floor and the walls. The corners were the worse especiallt where the soap and shampoo were stored. It looked good. Next was the toilet. I find the toilet actually easy to clean. Bowl cleaner and 409 took care of that. I also cleared the spider webs from behind the toilet. Next was the sink. And I didn’t realize how bad that was until I had cleaned the grime from the sink. I also cleaned the counter and put away all the extra crap that found a home on that sink counter.The sink looked awesome. Finally, had to sweep and mop. I thought I had the sweeping done but found more crap when I mopped. So I swept again then mopped again.

Finally, the kitchen. This one was going to be tough.

First, I washed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher, which I started. The soothing sound of the dishwasher made me feel a tad bit more productive. I, then,  cleared all the counters and used 409 to sanitize everything. I soaked the stove with 409 and let it sit. BBQ is the worst to get out. Once the counters are clean, I tackle the stove with a sponge. Well, a sponge, then paper towel, then a sponge and finally one more swipe with a paper towel. Each strock lubricated with 409. Finally, I tackled the portion of cleaning I looked forward to the least: the kitchen floor. First, I swept, trying to get as much clraned up as possible. Then I swept again. I probably gathered up a pound of dirt and dog hair. Then I ran a hard mop across the floor. Seeing that I had picked up more stuff, I swept again. Then mopped again. By the time I was finished, the floor was sparkling (or sparkling for an apartment floor).

Next, the living room. This is not as tough because this involves dusting and cleaning up clutter. I dusted the entertainment center, my desk and the kitchen table and chairs. I cleared off the desk of any piece of paper that was not immediately needed and put it away. The desk was cleared of everything except my knick knacks.

Last, but never least, I vacuumed the entire apartment.

The place looked like I had just moved in. It was beautiful. As a final action to crown the productive day, I hung up the wedding gift my daughter gave me when she got married. I even hooked the cuff links she gave me to the picture.

It was the perfect day. Until my girlfriend and I got into a fight and we broke up. She never even saw the apartment.

So why did I bother bringing this up? Because, I learned something in my relationship. I took something out of it. That makes this relationship successful.