I used to be house proud and I enjoyed keeping it spick and span. On weekends especially, you would find me with the radio or cd player on, playing my favourite songs and I would clean the house from top to bottom, putting away everything in its own place and arranging it all nicely.
I loved having guests over, maybe for a steamboat dinner…
…or a popiah party…
…or some home-cooked Sarawak laksa…
…but eventually, I got tired of it. “If you do not make such a mess, then there would not be very much to clean up,” I would grumble over and over again but all my nagging fell on deaf ears. So in the end, I just gave up…and learned to live with it, or sort of! Now my house is more often than not, a horrible mess and I do not dare to ask people to come around anymore…
Well, Kpenyu sent me this via email; I wonder what you all think of it…
Remember, a layer of dust protects the wood beneath it and a house becomes a home when you can write ‘I love you’ on the furniture.
I used to spend at least 8 hours every weekend making sure things were just perfect – ‘in case someone came over’. Finally I realized one day that no-one ever came over; they were all out living life and having fun! NOW, when people visit, I don’t have to explain the ‘condition’ of my home. They are more interested in hearing about the things I’ve been doing while I was away living life and having fun.
If you haven’t figured this out yet, please heed this advice.
Dust if you must,
but wouldn’t it be better to paint a picture or write a letter,
bake cookies or a cake and lick the spoon or plant a seed?
Ponder the difference between want and need!
Dust if you must,
but there’s not much time . . . .with gin to drink, rivers to swim and mountains to climb, music to hear and books to read, friends to cherish and a life to lead.
Dust if you must,
but the world’s out there with the sun in your eyes,
the wind in your hair, a shower of rain…This day will not come around again.
Dust if you must,
but bear in mind, old age will come and it’s not kind…and when you go – and go you must – you, yourself will make more dust!
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, life is short, so party we must!
Personally, I do not in any way prescribe by that kind of thinking. Even after all this time, I still long for a nice, neat and clean house, one that I will not feel bad about inviting friends over to…and share some delightful evenings together over a delicious meal that I would cook myself. Some things never change!…Sigh!!!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 