Hands up those of you who clean their house before the maid comes?
Silly aren’t we?
I also make sure my house has a quick once over before going on holiday because after a stress reducing vacation there is nothing worse than returning to dirty dishes, rings around the porcelain, and discarded clothes adorning chairs and floors, clear evidence of indecisive packing and a rushed departure.
When Hubs, Daughts and I took a year off in England I spent months getting the house ready and handed over a “residence I would enjoy coming home to,” to my Zoo Keeper son!
I would like to say that leaving my house in the care of my son was a good idea…
I am also a fan of travelling light. I belong to the fan club; I make myself notes about it everytime I return from a holiday where I’ve worn a fraction of what I’ve toted with me. During our homeschool years the children even devised a cunning formula to keep us light (pack what you want and then take out half) but I still fall foul of the “maybe” and “what if” nudgings of the woman in me and end up packing as much as I possibly can to cover all bases.
This is not helped by the fact that Hubs and I are Ruby members of the American Airlines Advantage Club and are privileged to be able to check two bags, each weighing an impressive 50 lbs, when we travel internationally. Hand baggage is allowed by dimension only and I take a rolling suitcase that I can fill with all my heavy “must have” items such as my MacBook, cords, adapter plugs, writing implements and books thus leaving more weight for clothes and shoes in my checked bags. Then of course there is my handbag, which I always leave home without except when I’m travelling, this is not a pretty little feminine number designed to hold a lipstick and powder..this is a shoulder number large enough for the kitchen sink…oh yes, I’m guilty!
So, although I’m a fan of travelling light I am enabled to travel heavy, really heavy!
When our thirteen month hiatus from the hum drum of Texas life ended, I was to learn my lesson about travelling light and unnecessary cleaning.
The three of us, Hubs, Daughts and I hauled home with enough luggage to elicit looks, resulting in vacuous excuses floating defensively from our lips,
“We’ve been away for a year.”
Really no excuse at all when you consider the backpackers of this world, which we are evidently not!
When we lugged everything into our house I could immediately sense that this was not the same pristine residence I had left in the care of my Zoo Keeper son.
Things could have been worse I told myself firmly as I looked around at the dirty dishes, rings around the porcelain and discarded clothes adorning chairs and floors, clear evidence of a year and a month of parental free living, there could have been slashed furniture, painted walls and broken windows!
What’s a thick layer of dust, grime and a few cobwebs among family members?
Now where did I pack that kitchen sink?
Well hello there! My name is Vivienne McNeny.
I am an empty nester exploring life as a Boomer…you could say I'm happily Boomering along!
As a homeschooling Mum I have finally quit the job of role model and mentor to my four children. I do what I want to do, eat when I feel like it, enjoy life with my blue eyed cowboy and clean my house once a month or so whether it needs it or not!
In true English form I write about the emergence of my true identity now that I can no longer hide behind my children as their Mum.
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