A few months ago when I left Life 1.0 I had this vision of how things would be by the end of the summer – my entire house would be clean which means closets cleaned out, cabinets organized, no dust on the furniture, the deck staining would be complete - get the picture? Well let’s just say unless you have really bad eyesight, are a dear friend or a family member you probably won’t be invited to my house soon – especially if you wear white gloves!
The kitchen is a work-in-progress that somehow gets dirty on a regular basis and the bathrooms get regular attention. Other than that, it’s hit and miss! I’ve cleaned a few drawers and cabinets and the deck staining is nearing completion (I vow to have it finished before this coming weekend!) but I’m losing the battle with the weeds around the pool.
I also envisioned long lunches with friends and little shopping trips to outlying towns and while I’ve enjoyed lunching with friends almost every week, yesterday was the first day I fulfilled the other part of that dream. My good friend Carol called on Sunday and we decided to head out to Ozark yesterday for lunch at the Riverwalk Jazz Cafe and then browsed the little gift shops around the square. I didn’t green up their economy too much but it was fun to slow down my pace and just stroll and visit while we shopped.
Then today I met college buddies Sally and Sherri for lunch and it was great to know I didn’t have to cut out before we were through visiting as I’ve had to do in the past. Not only were we sorority sisters back at the 40 Acres of Christian Atmosphere known as Drury but we also played bridge together for almost 30 years before Sally and I got booted from the group (long story – you wouldn’t be interested!). Since Sherri wasn’t among the Bootors we still get together to catch up on our families and share pictures and stores about our beautiful, talented grandkids.
While biking home from lunch and the gym I realized that if I dust, the house will get dirty again – if I clean out the cabinets, they will get messy again – but if I don’t nurture my friendships I won’t care how clean and neat my house is.
The best things in life aren’t things.
