If you missed Part 1 and 2, you can go here and here.
I
have to clean all this? Say what?...
Here I am with the last part. I promise, I’ll get to the actual part of why
my living situation is complicated. Here
we go…
So, in part two you learned that
I became a SAHM. Being a SAHM is
awesome. I love it! But with that comes the “stay-at-home”
part. Haha, clever huh? Anyway, I never really took much notice
before but now that I’m home all the time, I noticed that this lady has so much
stuff! We’re talking borderline hoarder
status. Everywhere you turn there is
stuff. Every inch of this house has
stuff. I’m not kidding. It’s so much stuff that it needs to be
cleaned like every week just so that the dust and grime wouldn’t settle. And it’s hard to ignore when I’m home every
day.
I grew up with a white glove Nazi
of a mother, so too much stuff and I don’t go well together.
I’m going to back it up just a bit with how I
didn’t have time to think about it when I was working. Once a year I would do a major cleaning but
since I was on a time crunch, there was no room for grumbling. I would clean and grumble at the same time. I would curse at all the knick-knacks that
had a year’s worth of dust and grime on them.
But I’d clean them anyway. And let’s
get real here, I wanted to spend my days off with the Radical, not cleaning a
bajillion knick-knacks that didn’t belong to me. I also didn’t think about how this house was not baby-proof because again, we were
never home. Okay, back to the story….
So there I was, a SAHM,
being stared at by all this stuff. I
would clean them but as time went on, I would get the itch to put things
away. I honestly was getting tired of
cleaning her bajillion knick-knacks. Who wouldn’t?
I didn’t box these things up but I was starting to move them in her
room; out of sight. I started off slow
and inconspicuous with the knick-knacks but eventually her room ran out of room. It had turned into a storage space which was
a problem because 1) I would have to put everything back when Merrie Monarch
week rolled around, 2) what would happen if she did a surprise visit, and 3) it
was an eye sore.
The Mister gave me the
green light to relocate the furniture that wasn’t baby-proof because now that
we’re home all the time, the Radical needed space to roam.
Then I got another itch. I was starting to feel like I needed my own
space. I wanted pictures of my own
family up, I wanted my own décor up but I can’t do that if there is no
room. I didn’t want to add more stuff to
the already stuff-filled house. I wanted a space that felt like my own.
I wanted our living space to feel like our own
but there was one problem: this is still her house. I feel like I was stepping over some kind of boundaries
by putting her stuff away. What would
happen if she came home to visit and all her stuff was put away? I had a sense of fear. I anticipated the worst. There was one time I put away a side table
she had out in the living room because it had pointy edges. With a toddler learning to walk, it was a
disaster waiting to happen. So I moved
it but it found its way back into the living room when she was home for Merrie
Monarch.
Little knick-knacks (like
figurines that the Radical could easily break or rocks) that I put away found
their way back to where I took it from.
And I was just getting tired of telling the Radical a million times over
not to touch or play with her things. It
would be my fault it he broke it and I honestly didn’t want to go there. I’d rather just put her things away. So we
can all have peace of mind. But no,
things I put away come right back out.
And
that pool table she “bought for the house”?
We have no room for a pool table and we don’t have time to play pool. But she buys it anyway and ships it over and
where does it go? In the living room
where the Radicals play. I can’t even
begin to tell you my frustrations with this.
Did she forget that we have a baby and a toddler? Do you know the mini heart-attack I had when
the Mister forgot to put the balls away?
Radical #1 thought it was an actual ball to throw.
And that my friends, is why living here is so
complicated. Yes we pay rent and
utilities and live here 24/7 but it’s still her house. I don’t know how to describe my feelings. I guess it’s a mixture of me not being in
control of my surroundings and how she puts the things I put away, back where
they were just for me to put it away (again) when she leaves. I get that it’s her house and she has a say but at the same time she doesn’t live
here. It’s a touchy subject.
However, the Mister is finally comprehending
my feelings because we just re-did the kitchen (I’ll post on that later) and we’re
talking about re-doing the whole house.
I still have some of her stuff out but the bulk of it is put away. I mean, there’s no inkling that she’s coming home and if I can’t move then I might as well get creative and roll with it. Not only am I creating my own space but we’re giving her house a facelift at the same time. A win-win situation again. The way I look at it is we’re holding up our end of the deal with ‘taking care of the house’ just minus all the ‘stuff’.
So there you have it…my complicated living
situation. I’m okay though. I’m learning to embrace this time in our
lives; live, learn, and move on. And not
to forget to love and laugh along the way!
Why did I tell you this? Well, 1) so y’all don’t get confused in the
future when I talk about my complicated living situation and 2) I’m not afraid
to blog about how I’m human and my life includes spiders, ants, and miniature
prehistoric creatures alongside the butterflies and rainbows.
Happy Tuesday, sweets! And guess what’s in two days, besides Thanksgiving? THE MACY’S DAY PARADE!!! Yes I’m shout-typing because I’m that excited!!!
jenn
