Dear Long-Handled Shoehorn,
Though our courtship has been a short one, I can already tell we will be partners for life. You are perfect for me. How you hang, so patiently nearby waiting for the moment when you can be useful. The way you guide my foot ever so gently in to my shoes. I feel like Cinderella!
Thank you for your support. Thank you for making life easier. Thank you for being exactly what you are and nothing else.
Let’s never break up, k?
xoxo
Sarah
I rush home after a half day at work to meet Agnes, a petite woman who is going to “make miracles” in my home. She is buzzing from the front gate at the very moment I am coming in. She only brings a few items with her; rags, flip flops and a bucket. She asks how many bathrooms I have. After I point her in the right direction, I settle in at the dining table for some work from home and don’t see Agnes again for a couple hours. The only proof that she is actually there is an occasional bang or the sound of running water.
After three hours, she emerges to kick me out of the living/dining area. I have since quit my work and am watching How I Met Your Mother, feeling like instead of watching television, I should be helping Agnes. When I go back to the master bed/bath, my jaw drops. It is immaculate, sparkling, shiny and new.
Another hour passes and I decide to check on her. She is under the dining table cleaning who knows how much dog hair from the underside of the table. There is a PILE of dog bones on Elphie’s bed that she could only have found in awful abandoned places like under the couch and beneath the stove. I slowly back out of the room, unable to interrupt the master at work.
In total Agnes spends almost five hours cleaning our two bedroom, two bath condo. We’ve had “cleaning services” come before. They spend no more than two hours cleaning and charge twice what Agnes asks for. This lady is amazing and she made my day by making my home look better and cleaner than I could ever hope to.
Elphie has this thing where she chews up every single toy we get her reducing it to unrecognizable bits in a matter of minutes. So for Christmas, to occupy her while the hubs and I opened our gifts, we got her this little rubber ball man that we were certain she would destroy quickly.
Well, he’s still surviving and is, in fact, her favorite toy. We spend many nights going about our business while also throwing this toy for her. (The hubs and I call him Maurice and are trying to teach her his name). Today, we came up with a sort of keep-a-way soccer game where he and I kick Maurice back and forth trying to keep him away from Elphie. She loves us kicking him because she is totally incapable of predicting which direction he will fly. It’s fun and a little bit active too.
Our entryway is narrow and white. We have an old, ugly bookshelf that holds mail, photos and Elphie’s personal items and a mat for shoes. This hall also has the furnace closet and a coat closet, so there is not much we can change about the space and how it works. Other than paint a chalkboard wall!
One small wall sticks out a little and thus is the perfect spot for updates from the dog walker, cute loves notes, inside jokes and maybe a doodle or two. The hubs is very kind and offered to do it all himself so that I would not over-exert myself. But I really wanted to paint some (you can see the proof below) and it probably doesn’t count as my fun thing if I don’t participate. We painted the first and second coats very easily and now just have to wait three days before we can write on it.
I’m wondering if it might also be cute to get some wood cut and frame it out like a picture…thoughts?
I have not left the house today. In fact, I have been home for the last 28 hours and intend to be home for another 11 before going anywhere. This morning I posted a photo to Facebook of my weather app telling me it was ZERO degrees outside. ZERO. In that moment, I decided, “I am not leaving the house today. And it is going to be super fun.”
While most of my day was spent on the computer with work emails, life emails, bill paying, editing a personal statement for a friend, etc. I also managed to go through all my mail, swiffer the floors, play with Elphie, look through old Pottery Barn catalogues, try on new clothes that came in the mail, eat home made tacos with the hubs and enjoy an hour of uninterrupted Kardashian Television. Many of these things could be fun in and of themselves, but, for today, it is the combination of indoor activities and deciding to stay home that is fun. I literally was outside for about 30 seconds to let Elphie go potty and yet I accomplished so much.
I also took a moment to enjoy intentionally staying in as opposed to being forced to stay in. I’ve endured many stretches of multiple days inside due to illness or pain without finding the fun in it. Today, even though I never left the house, I felt free, active and productive.
year of fun 