Redefined

grandmother

[gran-muh-ther]

noun

1. The reason why children survive during the absence of their father.

2. A life extender.

3. Good listener and player of games.

4. A witness, holding the mother accountable (see number 2 in connection with number 1).

5. A companion for pedicures and trips to Ikea.

6. Sorely missed by all when plane returns from whence it came.

Rose-Colored Glasses

There's nothing quite like an impending visit from ones mother that causes me to suddenly see how dirty my house is!

*now, before I continue, let me just say that my mother is not a difficult woman, nor is she judgmental or hard to please. Put it this way, she is like visiting royalty, and I want my home to be clean and inviting, because I want her to come back again!

As I prepare for her visit, I look around my house and what was once deemed 'clean enough' or 'that doesn't need attention for another week or two' quickly becomes recatergorized into 'tackle it before Mom comes'. For example, my kitchen floors that get swept once a week and mopped about once a month now need to be ASAP. And the walls all over the house, I notice, grew dirt and smudge prints overnight. It's incredible!

Now, I do try to tackle the things that need attention and I do desire my home to be clean, presentable and comfortable, but on the other hand I don't mind a nice lived-in look either. I'm going to clean and straighten up before Mom comes but I'm not going to kill myself or make my kids ragged before grandma comes either. So I will do my best, then put on my rose-colored glasses to my home and enjoy the time with my guest.