Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Being a Slob

It's just been that sort of day, ie 24 hours! Yesterday LB spent the day at home, feeling a little wan and generally being quiet and affectionate. He didn't eat much, nor did he want to. Thankfully today this has all changed and his appetite has been found.

What a shame we cannot say the same for his beloved bicycle. The object of his affections today, had recently been residing; in a generally upside down position amongst the tussocks of grass in the orchard to the front of the house. Thankfully the wheels are made of aluminium and are not likely to have rusted during this carefree time.

Now if you have spent any time reading any of my previous posts, you will already realise that I am indeed far from perfect. I live with my partner & soul mate DG and two dude's BB & LB; plus another eight hairy paws belonging to our two dogs Gypsophillus & Tilley Two; the result is CHAOS, which is an acronym for Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome. My new friend Fly Lady, whose mission in life is to deliver her cyber friends from CHAOS recommends the use of a timer and breaking each day's overwhelming tasks into small manageable pieces thus gradually removing them from self induced martyrdom and over-whelming piles of clutter.. Personally I think that this is a magnificent idea and from experience I can say that it does work.

Unfortunately, when feeling remarkably sorry for myself; due to a flare up of excruciating Fibro pain in the right neck and shoulder; one doesn't feel in the least bit like wasting precious pain free moments on housework, or indeed searching for a lost bicycle. My boys’ have obviously picked up a lot of bad habits from Mum; while DG lived the life of confirmed Bachelorhood for too long.

Once upon a time, I used to be a relatively tidy, well trained little girl. Sometimes I would to retreat to the sanctuary of tidying my bedroom to escape the perils of living at home during my teenage years. Once I entered the adult world of nursing all this was to change; by extreme necessity. While living in the nurse’s home, we had a team of dedicated cleaners, who’s task it was to one day each week let themselves into our rooms. On numerous occasions I complained to the Manager of the block I was living in, stating that seeing as I was now a big girl, I was perfectly capable of doing my own housekeeping and that I would prefer not to have my privacy invaded.

Unfortunately all this fell upon deaf ears and despite my frequent complaints the cleaners re-cleaned my room on a regular basis. In retrospect that actually sounds pretty good; how often have I prayed for my very own housekeeper? In those days we even had a laundry service; reserved strictly for uniforms and bed-linen. Still, Polly preferred to do her own! How little did I know...?

Eventually I learned that the cleaners would refuse to clean any room that was untidy. Finally, a way to keep my only home on the face of the earth my own! Instantly, I became a slob! After 20 years or so it is a hard habit to break. Admittedly, it did have more advantages than disadvantages at the time, but these remain very much in the past. One example being that it protects your belongings from the marauding flat mate in the habit of borrowing your stuff without asking; another being the Christmas we were burgled. While I was lucky enough to get home for the holidays; the house I was living in was broken into and lay unprotected for several days. My room was the only one in the house that remained untouched. Before my departure I had deliberately messed it up just in case of this eventuality! Hundreds of pounds worth of my jewellery & electrical equipment belonging to my fiancĂ©’s employer had been safely hidden amongst piles of clutter, while my room mates lost everything of value.

Going back to the missing bicycle, I am pretty sure that it will turn up, probably lying in a ditch somewhere up the road, abandoned by its owner. That sort of thing happens around here on a regular basis, and thankfully we have been very safe and there is no need for me to be a slob anymore.

Here's to the Future!

Polly Px

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