Monday, June 11, 2012

Before or after?

A wise woman once told me...  "All jobs can be divided into two types: those which require that you shower before you go to work, and those which require that you shower as soon as you get home."

House-guests can also be divided into two types: those for whom you clean before they come, and those who necessitate that you clean after they leave.  I could have saved myself much angst if I had realized years ago that Early Childhood Birthday Parties fall into the latter category.

And then there is my friend Marie who, when she used to come over, would tidy my kitchen so nicely that when she left it was in much finer order than I ever could have attained before she came, no matter how hard I tried.  She moved to Michigan, which is a shame.

4 comments:

Hope T. said...

Most visitors fall into both categories, which is why I have so few visitors. Cleaning once is terribly difficult but cleaning twice is unthinkable.

ruth said...

Oh Hope, I love you so much.

That is all I'm going to say.

Lindsay Davis said...

so, is being a mom a job that you shower before, or after? many days, it means i just don't get to shower at all. :)

ruth said...

Ha! Lindsey, I was actually thinking about that, wondering whether I would address it.

I think that mommy-hood is a job that, ideally, would be a "shower-after" job... except that there never IS an after. It just goes on and on and on.

When I was in the throes of raising babies, once I went to Wegman's and a lady in the canned vegetable aisle told me, "Um, you have spit-up running down the back of your shirt."

I did not say anything. I could not think what would be appropriate to say. The words I choked back were: "Yes. Of course I do. I always have spit-up on me somewhere. Do you have anything to tell me that I do not already know?" I did not say that, and I guess it shows that I still retained a modicum of self-control.

When you are a mom of very little ones, you shower before you go to church, or once in a blue moon when you get a date with your husband. I think that means it's a shower-after job.

Although, there is also the fact that you generally shower when your husband is home to allow you those few minutes of privacy, and that opportunity may come in the morning or the evening, unpredictably.