Diving In To Perfection
(sample: cleared countertop of my dreams)
My children grew up in a home where the kitchen counter was always cleared. At least, mostly cleared. Well, I tried to keep it cleared but it was impossible and my expectations were frequently squelched. Sigh..
I love cleared kitchen countertops, and can't help it. If someone else's kitchen countertop is not cleared I am not one bit bothered. It is only my own that cause me to be restless and twitchy. With small children about and meals to be gotten, with child-sized hands creating messiness and playing at the sink with soap and suds and cups, this is not a very easy burden to bear. (The cleared countertops, I mean. The children part is sweet and pleasant and not burden-like).
I used to wonder why on earth I cared so much and needed so badly to keep every item off the countertop to where I could wipe it without obstacles being bumped. Then watching TV one day years ago, I had an epiphany. I suddenly knew exactly why the obsession existed. I could blame it all on...
LEAVE IT TO BEAVER!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/beeskneesdaily/11500358504/
Oh my goodness, June Cleaver! Her countertops were as cleared as they could be, and you could play a hockey match on them. She was a homemaker (bless her). And her husband worked nearby. And it never rained. And the boys didn't argue with her (apart from the occasional whine or shrug). And - well, AND. That's it.
This obsession with countertops actually didn't end there, it was extended to her whole house (neat and tidy), to her occasional tables (dusted), to her piano (no trashy music strewn about on top of it), to the bedrooms (beds made, clothes neatly put away), to Ward's den (desk tidy and papers filed), to the rest of her immaculate kitchen (no appliances on the countertops, dishes cleaned and put away, table cleared). It's a wonder they ever ate.
One day, feeling nostalgic and a little disgusted with my cluttered kitchen, I scrolled down through the channels, searching for inspiration. There was a rerun of 'Married With Children', 'Beavis and Butt-head', and a spate of 'Sex in the City' episodes. I tried to peek into the kitchens of these location sets but could never find them, cleared or cluttered. It was no use. I would have to find the Disney Channel, or whatever place Beaver might be lurking in black and white.
Of course - I could resort to Youtube! I dashed for the laptop and typed out the keyword, diving right in to that sweet step backwards where, even if only for a moment, one can dream of near-perfection in this crazy world.
And where the kitchen countertops are always, enticingly, cleared.
Of course - I could resort to Youtube! I dashed for the laptop and typed out the keyword, diving right in to that sweet step backwards where, even if only for a moment, one can dream of near-perfection in this crazy world.
And where the kitchen countertops are always, enticingly, cleared.
See you along the way!
the SconeLady
PHOTO above: http://www.flickr.com/photos/42353480@N02/5785054751/
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/beeskneesdaily/11500358504/">The Bees Knees Daily</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/beeskneesdaily/11500358504/">The Bees Knees Daily</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/beeskneesdaily/11500358504/">The Bees Knees Daily</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>
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