It is 2 days from vacation. Count 'em - TWO. This of course means the place I go 5 days a week to make the money so we can afford vacation is a bit like the countdown to armageddon with a that-which-must-be-done-before-vacation list staring me in the face every morning. Somehow that list never seems to get smaller because there is always another thing-that-must-be-done-now.
I don't know about the rest of the populace as they head into vacation preparation mode, but I like to leave the house relatively neat so that when I get back from relaxation and the avoidance of reality that going away provides, the first thing I do not see is the big mess that must be cleaned up. This propensity for pre-vacation cleanliness has a tendency to cause a level of chaos and stress all its own of course.
If I were a better housekeeper this list would be smaller of course, but I detest cleaning. I like a clean house, but I don't want to have to clean the bathroom. So my house is clean, but dusty and cluttered. As I don't dust and there are four of us, the clutter and dust follows us around. Sometimes I bribe the kids into using that swiffer thing I was so certain would save me time and make cleaning a breezy pleasure. Oh no, it's still just cleaning, thank you very much. I fell for the wide eyed blond hawking the simplicty of cleaning so easily from those commercials. What a gullible moron I am but desperation calls for such acts. But Giggles likes it so we share the task, when I remember that we have refills. I think I conveniently forget which I prefer to call selective memory. We all have it, I just actively reinforce it. A lot.
This particular list of to-do's includes but is not limited to: Bathe the dogs, vacuum the floors, all laundry washed and put away or packed, clean the kitchen and bathroom and strip the beds. See? All this and clear off my desk too. Now, who really needs a vacation? (Put on list: go to liquor store.) Plus every other minor sundry that pops up while trying to go on vacation. Like pack for four people.
What should never have been on the pre-vacation list is organizing the living room end table drawers. Truly. This takes a certain obsession and almost puts it over the line into compulsive. But clearly my feverish brain insisted it must be done now. I am cleaning after all and why stop at wiping the surface. CLEAN THE INNARDS!!!! the voice whispered. And so I bowed to that whispering voice and pulled out the first drawer. I almost exclusively ignore the voice telling me it's time to clean, so why now?
Gum wrappers, pens, pencils, nail clippers, pads of paper, calculators - That's where they've been all this time! - a couple of those rubber exercise bands (and I really thought they would help my waistline), two electronic hand held games, a penknife, 2 non-functioning flashlights, because clearly that's where the broken ones belong. There was 6 rolls of undeveloped film and 3 point & shoot 35 mm film camera's also tucked away in there. All of this in one drawer. No wonder it never opened.
I am very intrigued about the film and camera's however. I have absolutely no idea what is contained in those rolls and on those cameras. I can't wait to get them developed. We've had digital cameras for several years now so the anticipation of getting these back will carry me through vacation. It's a bit like buried treasure.
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