I started journaling some (?) years ago. In a fit of cleaning I found one of my older ones and, of course, quit cleaning to sit down with a cup of coffee and read it. Any excuse for a coffee break, right?
This particular one must be at least 8 or 9 years old and one entry refers to my love of my dachshunds. In case you are a new reader, I have two.... Oscar (as in, the Oscar goes to.....) and Emmy (yes, you get it). Oscar was given to me by my daughter under protest on my part. I swore that I did not like yippy little dogs. I named every reason under the sun to not take this dog into my home. I took him like all good mothers do and promptly fell in love. He has the personality of a tyrant and daily claims his rank as the alpha in our household. He is solely my dog and will growl and snarl at anyone who dares to even touch him in bed at night....except me. When he was 6 months old we bought him a wife. The name on her papers is Sweet Emmy Lou. While Oscar's name in no way reveals his personality, hers fits her. She is 6 pounds of pure love.
Back to the journal. The entry that caught my eye was the one about bed sheets. I used to change my sheets every other day and mop my house every day. Correction, I didn't use the mop in the same sense that I do now. I would start with a nice hot bucket of soapy water. I would wash the floors, the use the mop to remove all the soapy water, the repeat the process with clear water until I liked the results. Every day. I did eventually have a little breakdown and altered my over cleaning ways.
I couldn't stand to sleep on a sheet that had wrinkles in it or (heaven forbid) sand. According to my journal I was happy to sleep with the dog hair and the little bits of sand that got into the bed with the little paws. Well, not happy, but content......not unhappy........maybe resigned. The whole entry was about how I had lowered my standards of cleanliness for the love of my dogs. I guess it is pretty much like having your child creep into your bed with wet pajamas..... you change the kid and then crawl back into the damp bed and go back to sleep. It is only a little pee and it is your kid's pee, so, no big deal.
Back to the present.... two days ago I pulled the sheets off my bed and washed them, dried them, and had every intention of redressing the bed. I got busy in the store, then with cooking a meal and I totally forgot about them. I was on the phone with a friend right before going to bed and love of my life took the dogs out (under protest on their part...he refuses to sing the night-night pee-pee song to them) and went to bed a few minutes before me.
He made the bed!!!!! he has only attempted this a very few times in our marriage because I have standards in bed making that he cannot seem to fulfill. I like the sheets taut, no wrinkles. So much so that I purchased bed sheet garters to assure that they stay taut. Well, when I entered the room I could see right away that he had the bottom sheet on wrong, with the sides on the ends (it is a little tricky with king sheets, they are almost square). I thanked him and crawled into bed with my husband and canine children and slept blissfully......... maybe blissful is an exaggeration.
I tell you all of this just to make a point of how much I have changed in the last ten years. Even five years ago I would have made him get out of bed and remade it, all the while instructing him on the correct way to make a bed. He apparently never listened to those instructions anyway. He was so cute, he even tried to put on the garter at the head of the bed on his side. These fit under each corner and have to be attached to the sheet at both ends of the thing to keep it in place......... he put only one on with the other end just hanging loose. I finally remade the bed this morning and we will be sleeping on clean sheets that are pulled extra taut with no evidence of our four-legged children.....for tonight, as that will all change the minute they get into the bed!
I was going to post a picture of the title, but the camera had no charge left on it. I have a cross-stitch creation with a messy sofa, full of clutter and the title of this post on it. Perhaps, if I were a bit more organized these things would fall into place. I do manage to clean the restrooms and help mow and pull weeds and make apple butter and put up peaches. Some things slide and that's okay.......... sort of.......
15 comments:
That is a great story. Our priorities certainly change as we get older. Some thing just aren't as important anymore. Your hubby was so sweet to try to put on the sheets. Sounds exactly like mine. He can't tell which way is right or left. I guess the important thing is at least they make the effort.
It is funny how we loosen up on some things as we grow older. That was sweet of hubby to attempt to make the bed for you! We have the opposite in our home. Ricky is a sheet freak, I tease him about needing a ruler to measure and make sure all sides are even. LOL
What a relief to let go of some of that obssesiveness right? A house cleaner I am not. Except during those years when misery reigned in my house. then I would clean from the top down. It got rid of a lot of that negative energy in myself. As soon as those years passed though, my inner slob reasserted itself. I've just way too many fun and important things to do instead.
I do however, also have a thing about the bed. It doesn't need to have fresh clean sheets every other day (or week or weeks) but I am the Princess and the Pea. The least grain or wrinkle under my hip will keep me awake all night. Before I can get in bed I have to brush off my side and then pull the sheet smooth. Often I make Husband get up and pull his side smooth as well.
I find that I am getting a little lax with my original idea of clean as I age....maybe because I can't SEE the grime as well anymore. :-)
Awesome post...to remind us to enjoy the journey and not concentrate on the things that really don't matter all that much. I appreciate your wit and wisdom.
love this post...too sweet...we learn to appreciate the little things as well...like someone making the bed...no matter how it is made...have a great weekend. sleep well.
Once, when my daughter was 6 or 7 years old she asked me if cleaning was my hobby. LOL..
No one would ask me that now.
Priorities, demands, obligations, and the reality that life is just too damn short..
Great post.
funny as hell
I am not nearly as obsessive about the bed as I used to be - probably because Ron has spent so much time in it in the past 18 months. I used to make him get up so I could straighten out the sheets and the blankets. Now, I just get myself my own blanket and crawl right in next to him. We have so many pillow (propping this or that) so it just isn't worth it. I do make it look nice if I get to it before he's in it. Otherwise, it's as good as it gets.
My husband makes the bed, when I wash the sheets. It's his job. I think it started long ago when my back was out, and now it is just the way we roll. He does okay, really. I make the bed on a daily basis, something he just can't quite get the hang of ... (on purpose?)
Wow, I can totally relate to this. My motto for the house was 'Always clean enough for unexpected guests'
Now... not so much. It's sad that my standards were so high when my children were so small, had that been reversed I would have gotten a lot more sleep in my younger years lol.
Aw... what a sweet post. It's all about love, isn't it? You love your little dogs, your children and your hubby, and they all love you. Love comes before clean sheets, clean floors, or anything else. and you have love (and give love) in abundance.
I bet you changed the sheets or remade the bed correctly in the morning :0 I also have my standards for the sheets. I only change them once a week now. We are both doing better. Life is too short to clean.
I too started journaling when my kids were little. A few years ago I edited all my journals (some of the crap I wrote was not what I wanted in my legacy) but one thing stood out. I spent way too much time CLEANING and not enough time loving on my three children, just as my mother had done before me.
Oh if I had only known then what I know now!
Totally relate to the slackening of the rules. I remember being shocked because my daughter did not iron her babie's cot sheets... then a I had a reality snap.. who cared? Certainly not the happy baby, sleeping in clean sheets!
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