Below, you see some clippings from one of our backyard lilac trees. Until a friend suggested the obvious, it did not even occur to me that I could bring their sweet scent indoors. Now these little vases of lilacs are scattered throughout our rooms, making much of the mundane a little more enjoyable.
But this picture is deceiving you. I laughed at myself as soon as I'd taken it. I went to great lengths (and probably ten or so takes) to suggest that these lilacs hold a prominent place in my sparsely and tastefully decorated dining room.
Here is what I didn't include in the picture:
And this is actually neater than usual because we had people over last night, but please notice:
-Mae's high chair that you can't really see, but it's cushion was removed because she "had an accident" in it yesterday
-Mae's ridiculously large and very pink bouncy seat with lots of gadgetry-- we refer to it as the "space station"
- two piles of neglected mail with a dirty pacifier between them
- a drawing of a bunch of hearts that Olivia pulls out anytime she sees me doing paperwork so she can claim to be doing the same--there's a dirty burp cloth on top of it
- assorted plastic ware I didn't put away after last night's gathering, and apparently I'd rather put my laptop at risk of falling off the table than move the plastic ware even an inch
- the remains of my lunch- leftover chicken salad-- I didn't take the time to spread it on some yummy bread, I just ate it out of the plastic bowl
- a teether on top of an insurance card on top of my billfold on top of a notebook on top of my calendar
While I'm sure I'll continue to clean things up a little here (editing is generally a very good and considerate idea), I promise I'll always try to stay as honest as possible.
7 comments:
Love it! What great imagery. Thanks for being transparent--my blogs struggle in that category, though I'm not sure why.
If only magazines did this - a brilliant idea on so many levels. Why do we go to such great lengths to hide our imperfections? Why did I throw an entire hall's worth of clutter into my bedroom and shut the door before our guests came over tonight?
Love it! It's all in the perspective... when we lived in Chicago, we had lilac bushes in the backyard, and they became my favorite flower.
How I delighted in this post! The honesty is much-appreciated. I did have a moment, when I could only see the lilac shot, when I thought, "Dang. When will I have such a nice wood table with fresh lilacs on it?" Which you clearly do have, and they are lovely, but, well, your actual table looks a lot like mine . . . (minus baby items. Plus higher and messier stacks of paper).
Yes, I think human nature is very intriguing... I think if we were all honest, most of us would say that we would rather leave the laptop precariously situated than move the plastic ware. You nailed it. Or, maybe there are some who would push the plastic ware back six inches... BUT IT WOULD STILL BE ON THE TABLE!
I'm a little behind on my blog-reading. This is a great post, mainly because I'm living in an entirely fake world right now. We are having to keep the house impeccable, and this task is more than a little difficult. We end up stuffing things in kitchen cabinets, random drawers, etc., to our great frustration later when we can't find said-things.
My favorite part is your teetering laptop... looks suspiciously like a Tim Carter move!
it's so tempting to promote our best selves on our blogs... but showing our clutter is good for us and others... glad you're secure enough to be honest. ;)
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