09 July 2012

Dirty Laundry

Kids. Brace yourself. I'm about to start talking about my dirty laundry here. You may see a photo or two too. Don't say I didn't warn you.

It's Monday morning, and our place is a disaster. Backpacks and gear from Fuji are dropped and scattered in our foyer, yukatas and obis are left in piles on our bedroom floor, and laundry is hanging from the towel rack in our bathroom. Pots from making lemon curd tarts are still in the sink, and there is hardly any food in the house.

It was a good weekend.



I've always found that you can judge the type of weekend you had by the sheer amount of chaos around the apartment on Sunday evening. Sometimes, on a more relaxing one, the place will be pretty clean, except for the couch and coffee table, which will be littered with snacks and blankets. On these quiet weekends, maybe, maybe, there are gym clothes in the laundry basket (as a way to check off that you 'did something' besides movie marathons). This weekend? Oh, man, it was so busy and fun that I'll be cleaning it up for hours. Half our closets ended up in the dirty clothes pile.

Back in the States, Sunday evenings always had an agenda. Amos and I would clean, laundry, and grocery shop, trying hurriedly to get all the things that needed done. Should we arrive from from a trip late on Sunday, our bags would sit in the corner of our bedroom, sadly waiting for days for us to find the time to unpack.



Yesterday evening, Amos asked me if we should start cleaning up. He offered to help as he looked around at the destruction of our place. "Meh," I said nonchalantly, "Don't worry about it. I'll get it done tomorrow. Hey, want to go on a bike ride tonight instead?"

Here's the thing: for as sad sack as Mondays around here can be, and for the occasional job-loss angst I may have, it's rather great to be able to be 100% present with my husband during the weekend and know that, come Monday, I have leisurely clean the apartment and get our errands done. It's like we somehow shifted the work/life balance to be more in our favor. Our weekends are reserved for fun, yet our sheets are washed, our towels are clean, clothes are (mostly) ironed, and we somehow manage to even have dinner at home.

I'm still amazed.

Days like today, when my schedule is open, I remind myself to luxuriate in the time here in Japan. To appreciate what days are like here, and be thankful. A time will come when we are back in Seattle and our lives will move quicker. That will be wonderful, too, and I'm looking forward to it. But today is a reminder to appreciate the unexpected and unusual period of time that this country is affording me, which I will ponder with I paint my nails, apply nail stickers, and Skype to those I love back home. Life, dirty laundry and all, is pretty good.

1 comment:

  1. Oh man. Thank you. Thank you for a blog with photos of unmade beds, dirty dishes and piles of laundry. You are my hero of the day.

    ReplyDelete

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