"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." -----Martin Luther King, Jr.
"An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet,regardless of time, place, or circumstance.The thread may stretch or tangle,but it will never break."
- ancient Chinese belief

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Quote of the Day


If you've ever thought your house was messy, you ain't seen nothin'! I mean nothin.
Throughout David's bachelorhood, I visited his various apartments and rental houses, which he usually shared with at least 3 other men (boys? what are they at that age/stage of life?). They were all pretty nasty, including the carriage house that smelled so strongly of mold that I couldn't stay in there for longer than 10 minutes. And one house where the bathtub was literally brownish black from mildew. And the towels smelled. In one house I refused to eat off of or use any dish (you would've too if you'd seen the kitchen).
David is not nearly as bad as he used to be but is not and never will be a neat-nick. At first, this really bothered me and, as we woman can tend to do, I tried to change him. But, as our family has grown, I have become more and more slack in my upkeep of the house. And David's oversight of the mess has become endearing, and a Godsend. I've heard friends say their husbands have commented on their houses and been oh so thankful that David either doesn't notice or doesn't mind.
So, I've learned to sit in the sun with David instead of trying to keep up with and manage the mess the kids make all weekend long. I will snuggle the child that wants to be snuggled instead of folding laundry. If the kitchen isn't clean when it's time for me to call it a night, I call it a night and deal with it the next day. Or the next. Or the next.
And herein lies the problem. I have put stuff off for so long now, I feel like there's no getting out from under it.
I have started ebaying to make some money for the adoption. So that stuff is in limbo all over. Ty switched rooms so his stuff is sprawled about between two bedrooms. The school paperwork is piling up. The laundry is piling up. Toys (who even plays with them anymore?) are everywhere. I am having the garage sale to end all garage sales this weekend. That stuff is EVERYWHERE! In some part of my mind, I am thinking I am going to make and sell some jewelry. That stuff is all over.
Which leads me to my "Quote of the Day". After I got home from dinner out with some friends last night, I was changing into my jammies in our bathroom. I put my clothes on the HUGE, and ever-growing pile of my clothes on the bathtub ledge (thank heavens for those oversized garden tubs with their enormous tiled frames). David's pile used to always exceed the size of my pile, but not so anymore. And this is kind of embarassing. So I said, "wow, look at my pile of clothes". To which David responded,

"this is the messiest house I have ever lived in, including any of my apartments".

And then he proceeded to point out more of the obvious, "every single room in this house is messy".
I actually found it a little harder than usual to fall asleep last night with thoughts like, "how am I gonna get this mess under control?", "what should my first step be?", etc. This morning I said, "sweetie, I'm sorry the house is so trashed". And, as my sweet, sweet hubby can do, he made me feel all better by saying something like, "sweetie, don't worry about it". And I realized that for him, it was merely an observation, it didn't bother him in the least!
Gotta love that man!

David in our awesome Ryokan (traditional Japanese inn), in Kyoto last summer.

3 comments:

  1. You guys make me laugh. I certainly hope that picture is of David in Japan and not one of him sampling your assortment of garden-tub-ledge clothing in your bathroom!

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  2. You are probably the healthiest of anyone emotionally because you don't stress about the stuff. I am the opposite. I can only relax when things are straight(OCD). What a sweet husband you have and that kimono is priceless! Hope you have a great rest of the week!!!

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  3. One of God's greatest mercies in my life is that Andrew doesn't care about the mess...It overwhelms me though. I like the aesthetic of clean houses, but I lack the tools to get there.

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