As a child, my mother would always go on this cleaning rampage the first weekend of spring. We would clean EVERYTHING and I do mean EVERYTHING. If it was in the house, we had to clean it. She would always say that she wanted the sun to be able to shine through the clean windows. *blank stare followed by a serious side eye* I remember one year I hid everything under my bed so I could go outside to play. When I came back in, the mattress and box spring were up against my wall, revealing all the toys, books, papers…basically all the junk, I thought I had gotten away with concealing. I thought she was doing it just to torture me. I mean who, but Cinderella, scrubs walls?!?! But as I got older I began to realize the importance of spring cleaning. Not just in my home, but also my life in general. So as the first weekend of spring approaches I’ve decided to rid my life of the clutter. I’m letting go of the frustration I’ve allowed myself to carry due to not being able to live up to some unrealistic expectations I’d set for myself. I’m turning in my two weeks notice to the people that shouldn’t have been in my life anyway. I’m relinquishing the guilt that I sometimes carry based on poor choices I’ve made. I’m freeing myself of the anger I have towards people that have hurt me and didn’t bother to pretend to care. I’m leaving behind the hurt from people I thought were friends doing the unimaginable. I’m moving beyond past failures that I allow to replay incessantly in my mind. I’m releasing myself from the shoulda, woulda, and couldas. I’m simply letting go of the disappointment. I’m washing my hands from anything and anyone that doesn’t ad to my life, in hopes of making space for things and people that really matter.

*wipes forehead*

I’m feeling lighter already!

Rachelle Danielle