Lazy Excuse

"The only advantage of not being too good a housekeeper is that your guests are so pleased to feel how very much better they are."
Eleanor Roosevelt



Thank You Eleanor.  Reading the words above made me realize that the sight of my living room does not have to be a source of embarrassment but.  Instead, with great pride, I will view it as a gift to other homemakers.  You see, anyone who visits my house is bound to feel better about their own house and their own housekeeping skills.  All this time I have viewed myself as lazy and unworthy - when, in reality, I m acting in a selfless manner- helping the housekeepers of the world.

Think about it.  When you visit a home that is clean, organized and inviting, does it make you feel good about yourself?  No - it makes you feel inferior.  It fills your mind with visions of closet organizers, vacuum cleaners and windex.  It makes you feel like moving furniture and shaking out rugs.  That is a BAD state of mind.

On the other hand, when you see baskets of clothes waiting to be put away, dishes in the sink, toys scattered across the floor and various papers covering every surface, it makes you feel great about your own house. I mean, when you sit on a chair only to find a TV controller sticking into your butt,  it makes you feel like you actually could invite people over without a two week notice.  And, be honest, when you see something really disgusting - like a dead mouse or an old soiled diaper on the floor - it makes you feel like Martha Stewart.

So, even though I could put that pile of clothes in the drawers or sort through the jumbled papers and file them away, I wont.  I mean, while I had planned to clean litter boxes, sweep floors, wash dishes and pull weeds - I think I will play a little Farmville instead.  I will do this for you.

I would never want to make anyone feel substandard.  It would hurt me deeply to know that I had caused another human being to think they needed to work harder than they already do.  My goal is bring a sense of pride to others, no matter what housekeeping level they have achieved.

So, I make this promise to you.  The next time you come to my house, it will make you experience so much pride in your own house that you will want to come back again and again.  I am giving up the little bit of housework I currently maintain.  I do this as a gift to you.

You're Welcome!

(I bet if I give up showering and teeth brushing I could encourage even more people's self-esteem - something to consider, ay?)

Sorry

This is an apology, to you, my avid readers. You see, when I got this offer for this magazine print half of my story, I caught the publishing bug.

After receiving that awesome e-mail, I received a collection of emails saying that they liked the story, but it had been previously published. On the blog. The blog that is read by my mother, my husband, my great aunt, my three friends and my two acquaintances. The sad part is that my own son is not interested in reading my blog, and one of my regular readers, my husband, only reads it because I said I would beat him up if he didn't.  I explained all of that, but, apparently, published is published.

So, its not that I stopped writing. Its just that I stopped writing for the blog. The reason - I don't want to inadvertently publish anything that shows promise. So, I can only put the sucky writing on the blog, and I haven't come up wit anything sucky lately (except for this, of course).  Sorry.

I am working on things, and I am itching to post them and get your feedback. In fact, I started a young adult novel - but I can't tell you anything about it on this public forum. If you are really interested, though, send me your private e-mail. I would love to hear what you think.

So you know - I'm not ditching you for the far more glamorous and far more critical publishers. I just need to find a balance. I am working on it.

Thanks.

Fame!!!

If you want to see my name in lights, go to:
http://www.clevermag.com/