A Year of Blogging: April 7, 2011

Today is No Housework Day. This is a day I could celebrate over and over again during the year, and never tire of it! It came at an appropriate time. My family arrives in 8 days. Which means the whole house has to be cleaned. If I clean too early, then I'll just have to do it again before they come. But if I don't do it soon, I'm going to be rushing to cram it all in before they get here. My parents say they don't come to see the house. I know that. But I always feel guilty. My mother's house is spotless. She dusts and vacuums all the time. This winter, when Grandma was sick and they were spending a lot of time caring for her, mom was complaining that her house was a mess. She hadn't dusted in two weeks, and it had been five days since she cleaned the bathroom! It was upsetting for her. I laughed at her. Because that is the relationship we have. I was raised to keep a spotless house. It just doesn't happen. Now of course, Mom didn't have two dogs who shed and have toys all over the house, and she didn't live with a pack rat like I do. It is a struggle in my house, and I have to say, how I've managed not to strangle Erich in 10 years is a miracle. I work hard to clean the house, and it doesn't phase him. He just piles things up. So I have to get a little cranky with him, and he tries for a couple days, then it's back to his old ways. I don't want you to think my house is a pigsty. No. It's just 'lived in'. There are dog toys around, books that either Erich or I are reading on the tables, and there may be dust. The rooms that other people don't see (such as my bedroom) don't get cleaned as often. One of my favorite Boyds Bears is one that says 'I cleaned my house last week, sorry you missed it'. Or is it I cleaned yesterday? Anyway... the sentiment is you weren't here to see it. If people are coming to visit me to see my house, then they probably aren't people I want coming anyway. If you want to come to see me, you are always welcome. I came home from work, feeling like I should be doing something productive. All I really wanted to do was play on the computer. And then I saw 'No Housework Day'. I have used that as my justification for playing on ancestry.com tonight, and not getting anything done in preparation for my family's visit. There's always the weekend!