“The RoseBouquet”

You know how folks always seem to drop by - well, those that do - on days when you don’t have the house all in order? Well, I usually clean house on Saturdays and by late afternoon, although I’m exhausted, I often think, “Okay, right now would be a good time for guests to drop in. I’ve got things tidied up about as much as it will be all week.” Of course, they seldom do.

However, over Easter weekend I cleaned up and tidied harder than I have for years! This house is now about as neat as I can get it considering what I have to work with. I’ve packed a lot of stuff and tried to hide the boxes in the bedroom closets on the main floor, and am truly running out of hiding places.

I need to start packing in the basement, but I did do a super job of cleaning up a lot of mess and dust and clutter in Dad’s workshop on Good Friday afternoon, and then the next day in my own long bed-sitting room down there. This was all in preparation for the realtor coming to take photos of the rooms in this house to put on the multiple-listing site on the internet to help sell it. My parents never got matched sets of furniture, and things often got crowded, but I was taught to keep clean what was there. (We all have our own standards, right?)

But now I have to be careful not to mess up even my own desk, or tuck things away quickly when done with them, because as potential buyers come through to see the house, they expect to see that same level of “tidy” they saw online. It’s beginning to feel like I’m living in a fish bowl.

One realtor’s office has already called and asked permission to bring a buyer through this evening at 8 pm. Naturally, I’ll try to be helpful… but I realize I may expect more interruptions over the next few days and perhaps a few weeks. I hope for grace to be a good example.

By the way, for Easter supper I went to the city and Tom took me out to a fine restaurant nearby. I didn’t have to cook after all.