Occasional Housekeeper

            At best, I am an occasional housekeeper.  For days, weeks, even months at a time, I easily ignore the dust bunnies that multiply as fast as real rabbits.  Dishes and laundry are my specialty, but beyond that my house tends to be gritty and gray around the edges.

            However, there have been times in my life in which I have applied hard work and determination to make my home an oasis instead of a dusty desert.  Sometimes months pass in which I exercise excellent habits and maintain a place for everything and everything in its place.  But just when I begin to believe that I have turned a corner, it fills up with dust and clutter.

            Saturday morning, after buying two dozen eggs and a bag of cucumbers at the farmer’s market, I decided to cruise around town.  At an estate sale, a bright purple and turquoise butterfly comforter and sheet set caught my eye.  Occasionally over the past few years, I have looked for new bedding, but never found something that wowed me.  Perhaps I should wonder why I am drawn to the bright colors featured in pre-teen décor, but never mind that. 

            One thing leads to another, they say, and that’s what happened Saturday afternoon. Because the old hot pink and lime green valance did not match the new colors, I was inspired to hang the light-blocking drapes that have waited patiently in the hall closet for several years.  The next thing I knew, I was cleaning out my closet, dusting under the bed, changing out the funky antique California orange crates for an end table, and taking down pictures that clashed with my new bedding. 

            That evening I felt the satisfying fatigue that follows hard work.  My heart was seized with gratitude.  Not so long ago, a few hours of cleaning and rearranging was an impossible dream because of my poor health.  For the ability to spend an afternoon doing occasional housework, I give God thanks.