Comic relief

I just love snow days. I find them to be so relaxing, a gift of time amidst the busy days of my work life. It's not that I don't like regular days, I just enjoy the very different nature of this type of day. Of course, it does help that I like snow...:)

But I do remember a snow day three years ago that I really didn't enjoy very much. It was the only time I have ever hoped that it didn't snow. This happened just after we had torn the whole main level of the house apart so that my son and his girlfriend/ business partner could redo the floors and the kitchen, as mentioned in a previous post titled MY House. There I was with only subfloors left, sheetrock torn out, a few pieces of furniture to use on the main floor, and everything I owned stuffed in any space I could find in the rest of the house. I had a place to sleep in the upstairs (on several mattresses stacked on each other) and a place to sit in the basement. The bathroom was untouched, but the kitchen was pretty much totally gone! I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself that day.

I can still picture my daughter coming home from college and being rather shocked at how I was living. (Later on I did move in with friends for a while.) At one point in the process we had to move the butcher block table out of the kitchen to make way for the floor to go in - and the only place to put it was in the bathroom. My daughter helped me carry it in and we looked down to see a bowl of bananas still on the table. She smiled and said, "Bananas in the bathroom, Mom, there must be a poem in that!" And here it is - a little comic relief that was part of the journey...:)

By the way, the result of all the work is just beautiful - it was more than worth it!

Bananas in the Bathroom

Bananas in the bathroom,
can’t find my shoe
in this home that we decided
it was time to redo.
Sawdust settles
everywhere that we look,
over belongings stuffed
in each cranny and nook.
Scattered pillows
on the new maple floor
make places to rest
when we come in the door.
Lights strung on curtain hooks
our only Christmas display,
this little house is in
complete disarray.
But beautiful cherry cabinets
hang ready for glassware and goods,
lights, ceilings, walls
starting to look as they should.
No more popcorn ceilings
and carpeting full of dust,
the linoleum will be gone
and I am willing to trust
in the promise of our homespace
rdefined and redone
by an amazing contractor
I am proud to call my son.

Sarah Carlson

December 30, 2007