Funny thing, I told Herk. Housekeeping, I mean. How so?
When I was a kid, I could seldom get it good enough to please Mama; lot of chores done twice.
Herkimer chuckled.
But I got pretty good at it, and now I am thinking, I said, how much things change.
Herkimer, quizzically, Really?
Yeah, I explained, for years meeting Mama's standard in my own home was the goal. You know, perfection. But as I got older, things changed. Now I am at a point where "good enough" is good enough. At the rate I am going, the day will come when "not at all" is good enough.
Herkie laughed. I was just remembering, he remarked, the early times in my married life.
Do tell, I encouraged.
Well, he said, Tildy and I had been married maybe two, three weeks. I remarked to her that the house looked like she needed to dust.
Dust? she asked, in all seriousness. What's "dust"?
From Bob Warr and Picket Fences
with Bob's permission.
4 comments:
Why do I remember this with a different punch line?
Grace, I have used the story in one form or another for more than thirty years, but the punchline has always been the same because it is based on a true family incident.
I used to strive for Mom's standard and never left on vacation without a spotless house - or at least as spotless as I could achieve. It took me a few years to figure out how to walk out and lock the door without leaving a neat house behind.
Vee, priorities change as we mature.
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