Wednesday, December 10, 2008

I Wasn't Always Messy

When we were kids, my mom's house was never dirty, but it often was messy. She had eleven children after all, and when you have that many of us rug rats running around it is inevitable that there were going to be days that the house was in disarray. She never did give in though to the temptation to just let it go. My mom fought a never ending battle to keep an orderly, neat, and clean home right up until the day that the last of her children moved out.

One of my mom's tactics for keeping her home looking good and putting on a good front for visitors was her living room. Other than holidays, and special occasions, my moms living room was off limits. It was pretty much a museum exhibit of how my mom dreamed her home should look, while downstairs in our bedrooms and the 'wreck' room, we were allowed to do the things that kids do. Downstairs we ate junk food on the sofa, put icy beverages on the second hand tables without a coaster, and generally ran amok high on sugar and pubescent adrenalin. Then, come Saturday morning, we were required to clean our bedrooms and the 'wreck' room top to bottom with no prospect of going out to play until it was done.

My mom doesn't have any children living in her home now, and she has finally achieved that museum quality look that she must have craved for all those years her home was crawling with kids. Every time I visit her now, her house is spotless, and not a thing is out of place. No matter though, the same rules apply today as they did when we were kids. She has a separate living room that is never used, and a 'family' room on the other side of the house. After all, she does have somewhere near twenty grandchildren, plus great grandchildren, and they still need a place to 'wreck' when they visit.

6 comments:

  1. I guess you take after someone else.

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  2. I have an Aunt like that. She has an Imacculate Museum Quality 1970s era Living Room that is never used except for special occasions. I walk in there and it is like walking through a spacial portal into the 1970s. She even vacuums the carpet after someone leaves foot impressions in the carpet.

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  3. I love the picture of baby Kellen and the dogs ass in Mom's now "wreck room"!!! FYI-at family parties all so-called adults do "retire" to the living room for tea and crumpets!

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  4. By the time Paul and I took over the downstairs bedroom Mom wouldn't even go in there. As long as we kept the door closed and didn't let anything creep out of there things went fine.
    You know Madonna never cleaned her room when she was a kid and now her house is spotless.I did the same thing Mom did. Gave up and closed the door.
    When I go over to Madonnas house to visit now she insists on shoes off. I don't know how this happened. The best part is that as soon as my grandson sees me he empties every toybox and bookcase on to the floor...so I arrive, house is spotless,when I leave it looks like a tornado hit the room. Grandkids are a great payback.Ask Mom.

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  5. Peggy, When mom's adult children visit her it is a 'special occasion' and she opens up the museum.

    Gary, Oh that's why they sold the old house. They couldn't get the stink out of that room.

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  6. Was there any plastic on the furniture in the museum?

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