Household Chores: What is your favorite?

[First off, here's a shout-out to my life-long (literally!) friend that had a baby boy two days ago. Congratulations, M! I wish I could see him; we'll have to wait until July when I make the trek back to the Great White North! Now onto the post:]

Part I:
As a SAHM, I clean a lot. It's annoying. There's always something to...

...pick up, wipe off, or put away. The children don't seem to like it either, but has that stopped them from making messes? No, sirree, bob! They are undeterred in their efforts to create chaos.

When I was a kid, I don't remember my home ever being messy like this. Ever. As a teen, my room was quite disorganized, but my mother relented and kept my door shut. But the rest of the house was clean and organized. I wondered if it had always been that way, so I stretched my mind to remember back as far as I could --and I can remember clearly to 4 years old, and a few scenes at 2 and 3. Pretty good, eh? Yeah, so anyways, I couldn't remember the house ever being dirty. How is this possible? What did my parents do? Was it because my father was/is an amazing feminist-type man that always cleaned/cleans on his day off? Was it because my mother cracked the whip better than me? I asked her.

She said, "Cheryl, I was a working mom. You guys were in daycare when you were young and then in school all day as you got older. We were never home, so there wasn't much to clean."
A-ha! That was the answer! We are here all. the. time. There is nothing to do but destroy, destroy, destroy. Of course, if it was summer and not winter, there would be more outside time and more gone time.

Do you find that your house is cleaner when you're on the go?

Part II:
My favorite chore in the whole world, the chore that I love the most, that I don't mind doing everyday, that I actually beg to do is...NOT laundry. Okay, yeah, you all knew that. I've not made my disdain for laundry a secret. But I don't think I've ever divulged the secret love I have for...

...the vaccuum.

Yes! It is true! I love, love, love to vaccuum. I love to see all those little cheerios, dirt, hair, kitty litter, leaves, graham cracker crumbs being sucked up into the monstrous beast. I love the look of beautifully clean carpet. I love walking on carpet that doesn't feel like walking on gravel. But surprisingly, I also enjoy the actual chore, too!

I love the sound the vaccuum makes --the white noise that cancels out the children's whining and screaming. I love the vibrations in my hand that somehow calm me when I'm angry, and the ability to actually think without distraction while I work. I would vaccuum the entire house over and over if I had to. Plus --ooh! Plus! The kids actually pick things up when they know the vaccuum is on its way. They still have a slight fear that the monster will eat up their toys. I hope it lasts.

So, what is your favorite chore? One that you have to do, but don't mind doing?