A Vacation of Sorts

Not only did we clean, we bought flowers!

Anyone who says they don't scour their apartment before their parents come to visit is either lying, or should be.  Even - and perhaps especially - when said parents say things like, "Oh, we don't want you to feel like you have to clean up before we get there!"  Right.  Well.  Let's start by removing the dirty laundry from the kitchen table, the ice cream cartons from the TV stand, the sneakers from the counter top, and the dog bone from the bed.  And then maybe we'll get to some actual cleaning.  And incidentally?  Cleaning makes you really, really dirty.  Which then necessitates showering.  All of which Alix and I were frantically doing on Friday morning before my parents arrived for their much-anticipated visit.  Since I had the day off from work, we had essentially let all housekeeping duties slide until that morning and planned on getting everything done before their arrival at 2 PM.  We fueled up on coffee by 9 AM and then set to work.  When they arrived at 3:00, Alix and I were panting, breathless, wet from our showers, but oooh lemme tell you, our house was CLEAN.  It shone.  It sparkled.  Things had found homes that they never knew before. (Yes, empty flower pot, you now live in a closet, not on the living room floor.  Ahem.  Not that I'm saying I actually kept a flower pot on the floor for three months.  Purely hypothetical.)  And I did not do that whole nonchalant oh-why-thank-you-our-place-always-looks-like-this dance.  Nope.  We took full credit for our clean home and had the bloodstained thumbnail bed to prove it. (Well, at least Alix did.  An unfortunate incident with a wicker basket occurred in the bedroom.)

No longer do coats live on the kitchen chairs.

Clean apartment and all, we had an amazing long weekend with my family.  My talented father fixed twenty million things around the apartment that needed fixing, including making my closet doors open and close, making it so the bathroom door can close and lock (this is big news, people), hanging a coat rack, hanging a hook for Rupert's leash, installing an indoor clothesline (remember this problem?), and - most impressively - building and installing a removable gate for the bathroom door that allows Tucker to jump in and keeps Rupert out.  In exchange for all his hard work, I made my dear father a grilled cheese.  It was the best I could offer. 


The weekend also included a blueberry pie (made by yours truly), my brother pulling his badge on a taxi driver, Alix's dad and my parents meeting (also big news, everyone), a whole lot of coffee, a whole lot of wine, and one spectacular job interview.  I want to work for this family so, so bad but it involves me finding another part-time nanny job since they only need me part-time as well.  We'll see what happens, but it's a big step in the right direction.  Did I mention they live a block away?  And that they have three little boys?  And that I love them to pieces already?

With the house empty now, and it being only 7:45 PM (and since I'm not exhausted from baking cookies all day), I find myself a little...bored.  Maybe I'll start drafting a resignation letter.  Or maybe I'll enjoy my little vacation for a few more hours and do something wild and crazy like...read a magazine.