Be yourself, we say. Let go of pretense, we encourage. Authenticity is audacious.
Well… most of the time.

Sometimes who you are is — a dirt ball. Yep, that’s me. I am the walking, talking, breathing version of a dust bunny. I could possibly be a tumble weed. It’s no secret to anyone who knows me well or not so well that I am not a neatnik. I don’t have OCD about anything when it comes to cleanliness.
I mean, I have eaten off the ground at more that one race, I have peed in the woods and as long as there is toilet paper in the bathroom somewhere I don’t care which way it faces or even if it’s on the roll. Just being in the vicinity of toilet paper is a win in my book.

I don’t routinely make my bed. I like to use the excuse that when I get up in the morning often my husband is still asleep. While that’s true, just as routinely I don’t make the bed because the cat is asleep in it, the sun has risen, or I just plain don’t care.

But not everyone is as lax about their daily living experience or how they keep their domicile. So when I have house guests I do my best to not be me. I clean. A lot. I clean things I normally ignore like the dusty, dirty banister leading to a loft. I spent a solid hour working on it Friday afternoon. Now I’ll be the first to say that completing a task like this is gratifying but not enough to think about doing it again until the next houseguest announces his or her travel plans.

Further, the dust that collects on top of my kitchen cupboards is free to breed unencumbered by my tidying unless I hear that my out-of-state friend is swinging by over the weekend or my in-laws are planning a visit.

It’s important to know who you are and to be who you are. But it’s equally important to know that sometimes who you are needs a good, solid cleaning on occasion. It’s actually such an unusual occurrence that upon arriving home Friday evening my husband announced that the house smelled so clean. Again confirmation we are Mr. And Mrs. Dirt Ball. Welcome to our home. We do bother to pretend that we are Mr. and Mrs. Clean for the length of your visit.

Sunshine & Sarcasm,

Lowi & G