"Sure, we can go. What time? Oh, 6:30? Sure," I hear the hubby say.
"What?"
"They want to go eat and they are coming by to pick us up in 30 minutes."
And that is about the time all Billy Ned breaks loose. "Johnny, grab the vac....and oh, the bag needs to be changed. Yes, you have time. It stinks and if they come in later the room will smell rotten."
You'd be surprised how much housework can be done in 25 minutes. I had to allow myself 5 minutes for facial damage repair. At this point, a clean house is a lot more important than me looking good. I grabbed the broom, mopped the kitchen, swept the front porch for that all important first impression, and even windexed (yes, that is a verb) my front door and one window. I made sure everything was tidy in the bathroom and yanked the opaque shower curtain closed.....better hope they don't open it just for a sneak peak. Good thing I had cleaned the bathrooms yesterday. I am sure the hubby would have hated to see the old Billy Ned in me come out to clean the toilets in a panic. No time for dusting, just keep the lights down low and nobody can tell. Hubby straightened the coffee table and vacuumed the living room areas and I was ever so grateful and I didn't even have to yell or beg. A good man!
"They're here," he says as I come down the hall with my lips freshly glossed.
"How do I look?" I ask.
"You look great," he says. He knew just what to say......that comes with 40 years of marriage. They begin to know the right words after about the 14th year.
Memory: With an eight year age spread among five kids, there weren't many times when our house was clean and by that I mean that all toys were put away. Our house was never dirty for mom had her once a month top to bottom house cleaning days.......when is the last time you dusted above your door frames? As luck would have it.......and since we didn't have a telephone........we had unexpected CALIFORNIA company drive in. California company was something special because they all lived in mansions by the sea and grew oranges right outside their doors......I was ever so sure of that in my 10 year old mind. Mom and Dad greeted them at their car and by that time, I was in CONTROL. I knew what had to be done and I had four little ones afraid not to obey my orders. The house was a wreck.......a total wreck. I ordered them to put all their toys away QUICKLY. I grabbed the broom...no carpets and went into full throttle mode. We stuffed everything that was out, somewhere/anywhere...and that somewhere was under the skirt of the couch, under the cushions of the couch, or stuffed in a closet. In less than 10 minutes our house (living room/kitchen) was spotless.......out of sight, but they'd better not be looking under the couch! Our California visitors finally came in......couldn't stay outside all night, and Mom never let on that we had done anything to the house UNTIL after they left. She told us how proud she was of us.
Well, I still get in a frenzied way sometimes especially when I think someone might come over. My kids have finally confessed that when I was in my ZONE, they would warn each other to stay out of my way. They would hide out.......away from the crazy mom who was yelling orders to sweep the front porch, dust the piano, and grab the broom.
I love you. Regardless of how panicked I get, please come see me.
"What?"
"They want to go eat and they are coming by to pick us up in 30 minutes."
And that is about the time all Billy Ned breaks loose. "Johnny, grab the vac....and oh, the bag needs to be changed. Yes, you have time. It stinks and if they come in later the room will smell rotten."
You'd be surprised how much housework can be done in 25 minutes. I had to allow myself 5 minutes for facial damage repair. At this point, a clean house is a lot more important than me looking good. I grabbed the broom, mopped the kitchen, swept the front porch for that all important first impression, and even windexed (yes, that is a verb) my front door and one window. I made sure everything was tidy in the bathroom and yanked the opaque shower curtain closed.....better hope they don't open it just for a sneak peak. Good thing I had cleaned the bathrooms yesterday. I am sure the hubby would have hated to see the old Billy Ned in me come out to clean the toilets in a panic. No time for dusting, just keep the lights down low and nobody can tell. Hubby straightened the coffee table and vacuumed the living room areas and I was ever so grateful and I didn't even have to yell or beg. A good man!
"They're here," he says as I come down the hall with my lips freshly glossed.
"How do I look?" I ask.
"You look great," he says. He knew just what to say......that comes with 40 years of marriage. They begin to know the right words after about the 14th year.
Memory: With an eight year age spread among five kids, there weren't many times when our house was clean and by that I mean that all toys were put away. Our house was never dirty for mom had her once a month top to bottom house cleaning days.......when is the last time you dusted above your door frames? As luck would have it.......and since we didn't have a telephone........we had unexpected CALIFORNIA company drive in. California company was something special because they all lived in mansions by the sea and grew oranges right outside their doors......I was ever so sure of that in my 10 year old mind. Mom and Dad greeted them at their car and by that time, I was in CONTROL. I knew what had to be done and I had four little ones afraid not to obey my orders. The house was a wreck.......a total wreck. I ordered them to put all their toys away QUICKLY. I grabbed the broom...no carpets and went into full throttle mode. We stuffed everything that was out, somewhere/anywhere...and that somewhere was under the skirt of the couch, under the cushions of the couch, or stuffed in a closet. In less than 10 minutes our house (living room/kitchen) was spotless.......out of sight, but they'd better not be looking under the couch! Our California visitors finally came in......couldn't stay outside all night, and Mom never let on that we had done anything to the house UNTIL after they left. She told us how proud she was of us.
Well, I still get in a frenzied way sometimes especially when I think someone might come over. My kids have finally confessed that when I was in my ZONE, they would warn each other to stay out of my way. They would hide out.......away from the crazy mom who was yelling orders to sweep the front porch, dust the piano, and grab the broom.
I love you. Regardless of how panicked I get, please come see me.
I think we were sisters in a past life!
ReplyDelete