Once upon a time, not so long ago, I looked at my house in despair. Everything seemed endlessly messy. The shower needed scrubbing, the walls needed wiping, the floorboards were dusty, the tile needed mopping, and that was just one bathroom. Some days I spent six hours cleaning, and never even finished the kitchen. I was overwhelmed with the prospect of keeping my tiny house clean.
Three years ago Mr. Sapphire Cat and I had a dog named Tobi. Tobi was a good dog, but I was disgusted by the presence of a single black hair on my clothing, and bought jumbo packs of lint rollers, which never seemed to do a good enough job. When Tobi died, it literally took me two years to clean up all the dog hair. After Tobi, I said we would never get another dog because I can't stand the hair.
And then...
For some reason we just couldn't leave Mia at the shelter. I thought of the hair. I thought of the dog bed crowding our living room and bedroom. I thought of the muddy paws when it rains, storing dog food, all the stuff just for her, and the accidents in the house. I thought of all the compounding messes, and for some reason, I just didn't care. "Yes, let's adopt her," I said.
Maybe you're hoping she magically doesn't shed, or take up space, or anything bad, but this isn't a Hollywood ending, she is messier than I even imagined. She chews her toys to shreds and leaves pieces of the them throughout the house. She dashes into the house and onto the bed before I can stop her, leaving a perfect paw print trail through the living room, into our bedroom, and on our white comforter. My clothes are covered in dog hair all the time, and I'm out of lint rollers.
Now maybe you're thinking I made a mistake. I didn't think this dog thing through. But yesterday, after filling her pink, bubble toy with peanut butter, then watching her smear peanut butter on the carpet, I realized having a messy house is kind of a relief. I was so focused on cleaning all the time that I never relaxed and enjoyed my home and the life I had created here.
Sure, I like a clean house, but sometimes I enjoy a good mess. I enjoy the coziness of seeing my stuff out, or Mia's stuff out. I like seeing the evidence of a project finished. I like knowing I can clean that peanut butter later and not worrying about it right now. I see the dog hair on my clothes as a reminder of the dog I like so much. I never knew messes could be so much fun. Thank you, Mia! I feel so much better now.
Three years ago Mr. Sapphire Cat and I had a dog named Tobi. Tobi was a good dog, but I was disgusted by the presence of a single black hair on my clothing, and bought jumbo packs of lint rollers, which never seemed to do a good enough job. When Tobi died, it literally took me two years to clean up all the dog hair. After Tobi, I said we would never get another dog because I can't stand the hair.
And then...
For some reason we just couldn't leave Mia at the shelter. I thought of the hair. I thought of the dog bed crowding our living room and bedroom. I thought of the muddy paws when it rains, storing dog food, all the stuff just for her, and the accidents in the house. I thought of all the compounding messes, and for some reason, I just didn't care. "Yes, let's adopt her," I said.
Maybe you're hoping she magically doesn't shed, or take up space, or anything bad, but this isn't a Hollywood ending, she is messier than I even imagined. She chews her toys to shreds and leaves pieces of the them throughout the house. She dashes into the house and onto the bed before I can stop her, leaving a perfect paw print trail through the living room, into our bedroom, and on our white comforter. My clothes are covered in dog hair all the time, and I'm out of lint rollers.
Now maybe you're thinking I made a mistake. I didn't think this dog thing through. But yesterday, after filling her pink, bubble toy with peanut butter, then watching her smear peanut butter on the carpet, I realized having a messy house is kind of a relief. I was so focused on cleaning all the time that I never relaxed and enjoyed my home and the life I had created here.
Sure, I like a clean house, but sometimes I enjoy a good mess. I enjoy the coziness of seeing my stuff out, or Mia's stuff out. I like seeing the evidence of a project finished. I like knowing I can clean that peanut butter later and not worrying about it right now. I see the dog hair on my clothes as a reminder of the dog I like so much. I never knew messes could be so much fun. Thank you, Mia! I feel so much better now.