But this post begins a new war. I have been attacked by my house, my clutter, the 42 years of hoarding that has been done during my married life. Not all of it was by me, but the response to the attack will be initiated and carried out by me if it is to be done at all. It won't be infamous - this first step will be famous! Thus, the "famy" in which this day will live.
Until Thanksgiving of this year, we had not invited anyone into our home on purpose since early May or April, I can't remember which. This is not "normal" for us. For many years, I had been on a "hospitality mission," inviting people to have a simple meal with us even when I was not able to walk without assistance. In fact, I heard that this had been a source of consternation in the little church where we worked near Pittsburgh. People misunderstood my motives to show a good example as a ploy to "show people up" who were more able-bodied.
I'm not ever going to worry about people like that. Our job is to follow the Scriptures, and it has been on my heart for many years that Christians can go a lot farther in the hospitality department than we do.
So, what happened this year that attacked me in this goal? A leaky faucet.
The faucet in the main bathroom started flooding the floor with water. This was not a simple drip that could be caught in a bucket. I did have a really pretty faucet that had been purchased at a bargain shelf for the other bathroom, before I realized that the holes were drilled too close together to allow for installation.
Of course. the same problem existed in the main bathroom. However, the sink and vanity top combo there was cracked, and badly. It had been this way since we bought the house. It only made sense to get a new one....and paint the walls....and maybe some beadboard...and install the leftover vinyl that we saved from the kitchen....and so on.
The project needed room to saw boards, which meant the old Hoosier cabinet that hubby had started in March needed to move. Where did the nasty thing get moved to? The kitchen. Ick!!
I insisted on painting the gutted, dissassembled piece of junk the day before Thanksgiving, so as to give it a cleaner look for the small gathering of family we expected the next day. We may get the thing finished by Christmas. New Year's Day is a big deal for us, as we invite extended family for a feast featuring international favorites from our family's colorful heritage.
So I find myself this December 7 with a war on my hands. The bathroom project is not quite done, the Hoosier project is still cluttering the kitchen/dining area, the Christmas decorations are in various stages of box-barfing progress, and the laundry is piling up. Don't even ask what garden projects need to be finished!
As the One-Star General directing this attack, I must first develop my strategery. I have read "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying" by Marie Kondo, and will probably use some of these techniques. I have already listed and sold some of the "stuff" that I like, because I didn't "love" it.
But my gut instinct is to drop an A-bomb and be done with it.
The house feels like one of those puzzles where you have to move pieces one at a time to get other pieces near enough an open space to move into. That is NOT a feeling conducive to hospitality!
Since a nuclear attack is not an option here, I'm going to utilize a mixture of methods.
One such method is to recognize reality. I'm going to call it "The BergTina Method." It is, simply put, "The Life-Changing Magic of Recognizing that Life Happens."
More to come in the next post!
