Musing on Who Are You and What Have You Done With My Daughter?
“Little clean houses for you and me…” insert John Mellencamp voice and music.
My theme for the last few days.
Travelling and work this week (along with the needs of a family of five) have left our house in critical condition and in a slow state of recovery from holiday decorating.
As I lay awake at 3:30 this morning, I ruminated on two things.
1. My mother had a person help out with the house two days a week.
2. And a few years ago, as a new writer, I attended the Florida Christian Writer’s Conference. I sat in on a multi-day devotional workshop with long time Upper Room Editorial Director, Mary Lou Redding.
At lunch after one of the sessions, I asked her the universal writer’s lament: How do I find time to write?
Nice woman that she was, she listened to all my todos and to-don’ts.
And this is what I remembered in the middle of the night.
Talking a bite of an apple she said, “Find some help cleaning your house or let it go. There is no other way.”
DANG. That’s like hearing God talk.
Let it go.
* * *
7 p.m. a very tired Mr. Miles came through the door.
We jettisoned plans to go to gym, poured some adult beverages and sat.
“I sat there with Johnny. We sat there, we two. And how wonderful it was we had nothing to do.” Except talk and drink.
After a bit, we noticed the house was quiet. Too quiet.
Our daughter ran in breathless.
“I’ve got something to show you. You have to come together.”
We walked to our closed bedroom door.
Then it hit me. Just like it hit me the second before Johnny asked me to marry him.
She’s cleaned our bedroom.
The door opened and I had a Publishers-Clearing-House-knock-me-over moment.
And then this…
She organized my desk. <<< Scream. Stomp feet. Clap hands. >>>
Yesterday, I wrote a reply on Facebook that “Mommy’s only get paid in love.”
Well, seems as if love turns into action when you least expect it.
And when you need it most.
