My wonderful husband and I have been married for 6 1/2 years. He often tells people he moved into a Barbie Doll House! I have lots of pretty things .......LOTS! He calls my pretty things 'debris!' Imagine! Now I have pretty much lived my whole entire life loving 'pretty.' As a little girl I would look at the lace curtains in my Granny's window and think about how lovely they look with the breeze fluttering them. I loved the drives my mother would take us on through pretty neighborhoods so I could look at pretty houses. WE did not live in a pretty house and WE did not have pretty things but she knew how much I loved 'pretty!' I love fragrance. When I was little I would unwrap a bar of soap and carry it around with me so I could enjoy the smell of CLEAN!
It's funny how - even as children - we come into this world with certain tastes and preferences. Some people don't care about housework and some people are neat freaks. I am not the militant driven person I used to be.....when my mother would tell people you could eat off my floors - you probably COULD! I am a little more relaxed these days.
All that being said.......Louis Dean has a different set of mind when it comes to housework. He tells me housework never bothered him OR Ellen. They could sit and look at it all day!! They were both educators and busy and housekeeping was never a priority for either one of them. Then he married ME! He has adapted remarkably WELL! I have actually SEEN him shut a cupboard door......once or twice! To MY credit I have actually LEFT his glass on the counter for over two HOURS!!
This is Louis Dean's room.
He has his computer........
.......music books, some instruments......
and whatever! He also brings in dirt and pots plants, saves seeds from bell peppers and old envelopes and inserts from bills. I am certain there is a lot of important STUFF in here. AT least it is important to HIM!
(and MY stuff is important to ME! I get that!)
He tries to organize and clean. He really does.
He says he has so many things sticking out in there it reminds him of a porcupine!
So he asked me for help and since he is so gracious to me and never (or SELDOM) complains about our Barbie House.......
I cleaned it all up for him! Took out a black sack FULL of trash!
It really doesn't look much different, though, does it?
At least the dust and most of the DIRT is gone.
You can sit IN the chairs instead of on top of all the clothes that were piled up!
He is happy and so am I!
I have to remind myself sometimes that HOME is where we LIVE!
I turn the dining room into an art studio every Tuesday - complete with the aroma of turpentine! And that's where I am going now. I am still working on LAST year's Santa painting! Louis Dean is already in there waiting for me. He plays the guitar and practices whatever music he is currently working on while I paint. Tonight he is playing 'After the Ball'......an old Foster and Allen song.
We are glad we are 'real' people who live in a 'real' HOME!
14 comments:
being a real person is what it is all about...
How fun this was to read because I am one of those snatch it up gals and John is always looking for a glass. I say that there's one in the cupboard and he says, "But there was just one here." Ha!
So nice of Louis to ask for help. I helped John a lot with his home and I really don't think he could have done it without me. ;>
You have one of the most charming homes in Blogdom in my book. You're doing all right, Barbie!
You are the real deal! That's why I love to visit. I wish that you were my real neighbor!
~Lynne
[w/L]
I must admit that I am more like LD than you. But I am neater than Joe. It bothers me to no end that he leaves a glass on the table even though he is walking back and forth to the kitchen. But I'm better than you. I left the glass for over 24 hours. LOL.
Oh Linda...what a delightful honest post! I am a clean freak... I hate clutter...hubby is a collector... I can't tell you how much I have de-cluttered...and guess what he never misses it...LOL...so I keep de cluttering...he never asks for help as he doesn't even realize he needs help:) (I wonder if he will ever catch on that his things are disappearing?)
So lovely. Thank you for your post today, loved it.
All I can say is - good for both of you ! There is just no way the LOC could make himself leave a glass on the counter for over two hours - and me, I couldn't care less if it sat there for two days. :)
You and Louis Dean have it all figured out - real people, with real common sense and real love and respect for one another.
This was a great post Linda! You can only imagine with 2 children & a husband, my house usually looks lived in. Most days it drives me crazy but I'm trying to learn that it's okay. I know in my heart that "living" in our house is what it is for but the perfectionist side of me ALWAYS wants it tidy, decluttered & put together. Getting ready to add another baby to our lives, I just have got to accept that isn't going to happen!
I think it's awesome that you got to help out LD. I know he appreciated it. You two seem to be the perfect pair. It seems acceptance & compromise is your strong suit!
1st try to comment. No comment box. 2nd try. Here it is. Grrrrrrrrr Blogger.
Back to your post. Oh yes, I have to live in a Real House. :-) I'd never keep up with the demands of a Purrrrrrrrfect House. ,-)
Mmmmmm, I have a *Grumpy* post today. Hope you have time to pop over and read it. :-)
"I'm tired, tired, tired,
of *new,* *new,* *new*..."
~Me
I can relate to this whole story, i drove myself nuts when my kids were little, i wiped and scrubbed and moved things back where they went, had fits when they pulled all the books out and put them on the floor. since i am old and married to a man who does not close cabinet doors very well, and like yours leaves glasses, both eye and drinking on the counter, i now leave it there until he comes back for it. do i itch to move it? yes. he can't understand how i know where the lamp on the table is suppose to sit. if he moves it to the left or right, i move it back where it belongs. he says how do you know where it sits? i say I JUST DO. i am much better now, mainly because of the dogs making such a mess. and don't get me started on leaving bread crumbs on the counter when he makes a sandwich. i told him once if i did not wipe up the crumbs and wipe the counter 5 times a day, we would be buried in crumbs. the only thing is i don't do pretty, i am a minimalist and like nothing on anything, his ROOM is the garage and i shuddered while typing the word. and about the jewelery party, been there done that and i don't wear jewelery. but 27 years ago, i just started saying no, then i gave in and went to one party and go the bowl, and that was the last party i went to. no one ask any more.
I can somewhat relate to your situation. I am a neat freak and my husband is so so. He doesn't fret over things the way that I do. I have loosened the strings alot since becoming a mother 18 yrs ago too. Children force you to "live" a little! Then.....adding a dog to the mix, we "live" a little more! Ha! It's important to remember that our first priority is to be comfortable and then clean it up later.
I love this realness, when two people come together there is always compromise and you both seem to have adapted to one anothers ways extremely well. I go out to my boyfriends, we don't live together, and I clean his house. He can never find anything when I'm done and I know I used to drive him bonkers when I lived with him. I was the person where a glass couldn't be on the cupboard for two hours, I totally relate to this. We all need our space, he has his, I have mine. We live 3 hours apart, he does what he wants to his house, with a wee bit of my advice (now why did my face just say otherwise! lol), a wee bit of my advice includes new paint colors, suggestions as to what to do in the yard ...but I go out and help when time permits (total justification there, did you catch that one? lol) His shop is his shop though, I rarely step foot into his shop, I NEVER clean his shop or touch his tools, that's his domain (Just close those huge doors when company shows up please).
What I really admire is when you paint, LD spends quality time with you... that is so adorable and sweet. I love your realness, life is not perfect, nor is any human being, thank goodness for that. I love your pretty things, you have such a beautiful home and great taste and your man has his living space... now that's the ideal living arrangement if you ask me.
Have a wonderful day!
two real and kind people, talented, productive too!
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