Open House

I'm sitting in a very clean house right now. I mean eat off the floors, drink out of the toilets, invite your mother-in-law over kind of clean. (OK... I may have gotten a little over zealous with the toilet comment but it is VERY clean.) Not one thing out of place. Carpets are vacuumed, tile is mopped, bathrooms have been scrubbed, glass has been shined, furniture polished, drawers, cupboards, refrigerators, closets, everything... spotless! Every light in the house is on. Every TV in the house is off. Mood music is playing. There is even a crystal platter with cookies and cream puffs in the kitchen sitting right next to the ice water with lemon & lime slices floating in it. No kids anywhere and definitely no dog!

As you probably guessed by the title, we are having an Open House today. Have you ever had one? It's definitely an experience. You clean like a crazy person for weeks. Your main goal is to erase any evidence of people actually living in the house. You pack away toys, kids, dogs, and absolutely all of the clutter. And when it's 'go time', you allow strangers to roam around and peek in all of your closets. You pretend like it's just a regular day and you always keep things this immaculate. You point out impressive features and hope that they are so overwhelmed with the awesomeness of it all that they will throw truckloads of money at you and beg to move in right away. It's actually quite exciting.

And then... when it's all over with, you get to hang out in your super clean house and you remember why you fell in love with it in the first place. It's been restored to it's original condition. It's original beauty. You look around and it's perfect. No socks on the floor, no backpacks on the table, no toys on the stairs, no fingerprints on the windows, no beds un-made, no dirty dishes, no crumbs on the ground. But as lovely and as clean and as perfectly manicured as it is.... it's also very empty, and quiet, and kind of sad. No kids laughing, no dog barking, no baby jabbering. No life.

Keeping house isn't easy. I try to stay on top of things but I often fall short. It's amazing how quickly 4 little humans can un-do hours of housework. All they really have to do is walk in the door. If one of them is lost, I just follow the trails of toys, shoes, socks, and sometimes even food until I find them. And when things have completely gotten away from me...when we've crossed the line from "messy" and gone straight to "disaster"... that's when someone decides to 'pop' over and pay us a visit. Why is that? Why can't anyone pop over on a day like today, when my house looks perfect?

I've been told by my "empty nest" friends to savor these moments. To enjoy the mess and the chaos because soon it will be gone. I know they're right. I'm not ready for that yet. Time goes much too quickly and in a flash a tiny toddler turns into a teenager. It makes me sad to imagine my life as an empty nester. I know there will be perks...like a super clean house, quiet time with my amazing husband, and probably even daily naps... but it still makes me sad. In fact, if I think about it for too long, I could sink right into depression. That's why God gave me Kenzington. He knew I'd need a little extra time.

So if you happen to "pop in" on me someday and my house is a disaster.... yes, initially I'll be horrified and embarrassed and I'll definitely blame the children but then I'll remember that although this season I find myself in isn't always neat and tidy, it IS the best years of my life and I will hold on to them for as long as I possibly can.

All that being said.... I would still prefer it if you would call first. :)