Saturday, March 18, 2006

Spring Break, Pt. 4

My Spring Break is over now. I did get a few things done, but mostly I just hung out with friends, stayed up late, slept in, ate, read, goofed off, listened to music, burned cd's for people, and behaved as though I actually had a. . . . . break.

I haven't done that in a long time. I feel guilty, but I think I'll get over it.

I wonder why it is, that when we are young, Spring Break, or any kind of vacation for that matter, represents OUR TIME, time to hang out, sleep in, go places, goof off, kick back, be ourselves, and have fun. Whereas when we are older, any kind of break, while it might represent fun, also represents time to catch up on chores, fix up the house, take care of vehicle problems or responsibilities, help out friends with their childcare problems caused by other people's vacations, transport our own parents and kids here and there because they're on break too and the lack of routine, which is what you've looked forward to all year, is making them, shall we say, not so pleasant to have around?

Which brings me to my point, I think: this is the first actual break I've ever had in all my adult life that did not require me to work three times harder than I ever worked at work. Oh, I should have, but I didn't, and it really doesn't affect the universe that I didn't.

My furniture isn't as dusty, my tables and countertops aren't quite as cluttered, my laundry isn't any more done than it would have been if I'd been working this week, and I barely touched the horror that is the downstairs family room.

Oh well, I never go down there anyway. That's where our only cable-connected tv is, and I never watch tv. Well, unless it's three a.m. and there's absolutely nothing else to do; I do go down there occasionally and surf through the channels. But that doesn't count.

But if I'm going to have company this summer, I'd best get down there and do some serious clearing out. I've got time, though. Between this semester's end and the summer session's start, I'll have another free week! Don't worry, when you get here, I'll be ready.

This evening, I'll be working in the guest room, formerly Belle's room, and when I'm finished, it will be ready for company. Well, all except the big closet in there, which is where I've been storing all the Christmas things. I'll move them later.

If you get here before I get that done, you'll have to drape your clothes over the chairbacks. Sorry. That closet is next on my list, though.

I have a large house. It has many closets. Most of those closets are full of my kids' things, because their apartments don't have much storage space.

Surprisingly, with all their stuff in MY closets, I don't have much storage space, either. That's one reason my countertops are so cluttered.


It's a puzzlement.