Domestic Demi-Goddess

I am a horrible housekeeper. I know it and I admit it freely. Most of the time it doesn’t bother me too much because I almost never have company. I will notice the dog hair on the couch, the dust on the shelves, and the water splashes on the mirrors…but if my brain is otherwise preoccupied (which it usually is), I forget about it almost as quickly as I noticed it. Only when my brain has registered the same crumbs on the stove that I still haven’t wiped up or the (clean) pile of laundry I still haven’t folded, do I think “Oh, right, I should take care of that.”

Luckily for me, things (i.e. an unkept house and – especially – dirty dishes) bother my husband long before they bother me…which means he makes time to remedy those before I have re-remembered I wanted to – er, felt I should have – take/n care of them. It really isn’t fair to him – he works more, longer, and harder hours than I do. What can I say? Truly, I married up.

I do, however, have my occasional, better moments. The last two nights (in a row) I cooked dinner and even made some zucchini bread muffins yesterday…they are delicious. I also made some mini muffins, which are quite dangerous since I can just pop them into my mouth when I meander through the kitchen…It’s probably a good thing that I only have one mini-muffin pan. My mashed potatoes are not too shabby, either, according to my daughter, who had three helpings of them tonight.

This monkey can do more than cook, though, albeit a limited repertoire. But those 5 dishes I can make are pretty damn good if I do say so myself. At least I haven’t poisoned anyone too severely yet). I have been making a conscious effort to do dishes daily. I’m getting better at remembering AND making time to do them, so, point for me. Thank God I have a dishwasher – something I didn’t have growing up. If any of the dishes don’t get completely clean on the first cycle, they get another turn. I don’t believe in “washing the dishes” before “washing the dishes.” Or I’m just too lazy. Either way, it doesn’t happen.

I promise, I’m not a completely useless bag of bones. It’s just that when it comes to being a domestic goddess, my talents lie elsewhere. I have, however, managed to keep our child fed, bathed, clothed, and schooled. No, not home-schooled, but I make sure she actually goes to school and does her homework, so there’s that. The fur-babies are also still thriving. So, win-win. I even made her (the human offspring, not the puppers) a small scavenger hunt – complete with rhyming clues. Note to self: I need to make it more difficult next time.

So, while my house will never be the cleanest, it is at least a warm, comfy place to eat something (relatively) healthy and enjoy a book, a puzzle, the latest episode of Cobra Kai, or the occasional scavenger hunt.

Original Post 02/2021