Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh

For the past week I have been paying the price of being a, well, shall we say a "shoddy" housekeeper. My house is not frighteningly filthy but there are always so many other things that I'd rather be doing than scrub. Things like reading, playing with the kids, or napping. Important things. Each week I usually mop, vacuum and clean bathrooms. Monthly (or less) I dust the obvious. Then every 4 months or so we have houseguests.

That is what keeps me honest in the whole hausfrau role.

I feel compelled to actually clean for company.

Nevermind that our company is either family or friends close enough to us to know full well what my house normally looks like. If you come to sleep in our guest room, I must actually shove furniture around when I vacuum and get down and clean the corners of the tile floor with damp paper towels and toothbrushes. This I must do fully realizing that, having a large shedding dog, mere minutes later said corners will be obliterated by drifts of dog hair and the crud so carefully removed would have been covered anyway. Also, all finger marks so carefully rubbed away with breath and lint-free cloth will magically reappear as if fashioned of the same stuff as those trick no-blow-out birthday candles. This is because I have 2 small children.

You see, it doesn't matter, because I know I did it. I really did clean and don't have to do it again for 4 more months. Guilt free.

Believe it when I say, "No, no, thank you for coming," that I really, really mean it from the bottom of my little temporarily cobweb free heart.

Call it penance served.

So, thank you, Dad and Cathy, for coming out.

Now, who's next? Wisconsin in March? It's for a good cause.