When the bottom is empty and the brain is full

Words have a power all their own (Photo credit: Lynne Hand)

Words are fascinating to me.

Sometimes words will just strike me as being strange. Awkward, for instance. The spelling is essentially its definition.

The word that has been intriguing me the past few days is “clean”.

We have finally hired a cleaning lady again after several years of trying to do it ourselves.

No, in actuality, we don’t try too hard. Thus the need to hire someone.

For the past two weeks, we have come home to a house that looks and smells clean. Amazing, wonderful and unbelievable all at the same time.

But that is what started me thinking about the word.

Then this past Friday I subjected myself to my first colonoscopy. (Hmm. Is that too much information? It fits the theme-stay with me).

If you have had this procedure, you know that there is a two-day preparation routine that includes a liquid diet, a “yummy” drink preparation, and plenty of reading time in the bathroom.

When we returned home after the hospital procedure last Friday to a wonderfully fresh, clean house I had one of those very strange thoughts……

Clean!

Inside and out!

Then my drug-addled little brain began to think of all of the different ways that the word clean might apply to me as well as my house at that moment.

Clean as a whistle.

Clean clear through.

She cleans up pretty well.

Squeaky clean. (Did you know that hardwood floors make a squeaking sound when you walk on them in your stocking feet? I don’t think I did.)

For several hours after returning home, I was a bit drowsy. My mind began to wander a bit. I began to think about the many other sayings that use the word clean.

When you’ve run out of money, you are cleaned out. When you take everyone else’s money, you clean up.

You can make a clean sweep if you win several times.

When you don’t swear, you keep it clean.

Someone who is not a criminal has a clean record. A person who gets a fresh start has a clean slate.

If you are going to change your bad behavior, you will clean up your act. If you admit that you had past bad behavior, you will come clean.

When you get rid of many bad things or bad people, you clean house.

It would seem that we as a society are obsessed with clean. We even use a product called “Mr. Clean”.

Mr. Clean’s logo. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Our language pegs us as a society of germophobes. In fact, I have had many friends and acquaintances proudly describe themselves this way. Not me.

I am not a clean freak.

Yikes! Stop me!

I’m going to make a clean getaway now and go to bed.

Oh, wait! The doctor did tell me that the test results should come back clean.