This Pile of Stuff on the Floor

      "This pile of stuff on the floor, is it in memorial to something?" I asked. Eric (age 16) laughed, only I didn't find it funny. I don't know if any of you have the same problem. “We” (I use this word loosely so as not to incriminate the innocent) don't mind sweeping articles of clothing (I hate to get graphic here, but…) stinky socks, underwear, Band-Aid wrappers, miscellaneous toys, household junk, and dirt into piles, leaving them in the middle of the floor and hoping they will kind of disappear (or someone else will clean them up).

      I think in the olden days they used the word "indolence" to describe this kind of behavior (if you don’t know what the word indolence means, have your children look it up), but I'm not so sure that is true in this case. After all, the entire floor was swept without any prompting on my part. Could it be that “we” have gotten into a very bad habit around here without even realizing it?

     I'm not sure when this bizarre behavior began, but lest I be accused of hypocrisy, I now make this confession. I think it all started with me a couple of years ago after I had surgery. It was difficult to bend over, so I began leaving piles of stuff for the kids to clean up after me. James 5:16 says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.” Hopefully this public confession will bring healing and deliverance (that is if I can get the guilty parties to clean up their acts and the mess at the same time).  

      Just now my husband "Mr. Thorough" bent over to pick up a pair of roller blade knee guards lying in the middle of the pile. "Stop!" I yelled. “Put those down. I’m conducting an experiment. I just want to see how long that pile sits in the middle of the floor before the person who swept it up deals with it an appropriate manner.”

     Oddly enough, before this post was even finished, the pile magically disappeared. Hmmmm, that’s amazing – a terrible habit broken by the power of the written word*

*Writer’s Tip: It always pays to read your entry out loud to the family before posting so you can hopefully catch the mistakes!   

2:18 PM - Jun. 17, 2007 - post comment

Untitled Comment

I love your opening line. I will remember it for my daughter, who is right now cleaning her room! :) Want to bet on whether I have to use it, today?

My4LittleWomen - 3:25 PM - Jun. 17, 2007

too funny!

I think you mean "insolence, though! GAGGGGG at underwear and dirty socks! This is very funny!

clairie dearie - 6:43 PM - Jun. 17, 2007

A Good Old Word

No Clairie Dearie,
It is indolence...meaning laziness. Thanks for stoppin' by!

Love,
Mom

JillNovak - 6:54 PM - Jun. 17, 2007

Hmmmmmm.....

Yes, we seem to have the same tributes in our home! How does this happen? If I could get them to know what 'finished' means, I think we could eliminate the problem.
I can walk into a room that 'someone' has straightened, cleaned, washed up... and there, in the doorway is a pile of 'stuff'. I have tried to explain that you don't use the broom to sweep EVERYTHING in the room into a pile, but you must first pick things up - THEN use the broom to sweep the dirt only.
I understand... believe me!
Funny about the pile. Maybe s/he thought their name would be used and s/he wanted to have it done before it was published!!!
lksjdfhgkjsdhksjdhljhsd!!!!

ttys.. blessings!!
-Jacque

JacqueDixonSoulRestES - 7:43 PM - Jun. 17, 2007

Untitled Comment

LOL! Ah man, that is good!
Wow, that is *SO* our basement!
:D
That's a good entry.

I really like your drawings. I like drawing too. I don't do it as much as I use to.

Please tell Eric, my servant, that my phone is dead ...AGAIN!
:D
But he can call my mom's phone 1-530-906-9343. I'm in the middle of a meeting but I can talk later.

Thanks a bunch!

-Paul

DarthYxpu - 2:16 PM - Jun. 21, 2007

GREAT!

I'm not the only one . . . I'll be reading your blog post to my children tonight and indolence will be their vocubulary word of the day!

Michaele - 1:25 PM - Dec. 13, 2007

Links

Friends