By Lee Scott
My husband’s car just pulled out of the driveway with our dogs faces pressed against the window, staring at me. Five minutes before he had yelled to them, “Hurry Bailey and Brandy, we have to get out of here! It is the dreaded “Company is Company Cleaning Day!”
“Funny” I muttered under my breath as he sped away. Coward. But he has learned through the years that when company is coming, I become a bit obsessed with cleaning my house. It’s not that it is dirty, but when you start looking at your house through the eyes of guests, you become a bit more vigilant.
On the top of the list is clean bathrooms and floors and then there are the fresh linens and sufficient paper products. I find myself looking at the number of coffee mugs that actually match – the little things that guests may notice. Although he teases me, I tell my spouse that at least I am not as obsessive as my friend Alice. She is good. Very good. Not only is her house spotless, but she has chocolate for the guests pillows when they turn in at night; bottles of water on a tray, a card with the Internet connection code and twigs of cinnamon for fragrance. Truly thoughtful.
Then again, I am not as bad as my friend Tia either who is on the opposite end of the spectrum. Tia believes that mismatched mugs are homey and it helps people recognize which one is theirs. When she tells people to “Make themselves at home” she means it because she does not cook and if they want breakfast they are on their own.
Then finally there is my friend Buffy who never worries about company because she does not invite them. Her idea of a dinner party is meeting people at a restaurant. Relatives are discouraged from visiting, but she and her husband think nothing of going to visit them. Her philosophy is that she has entertained all her life and she does not want to do it anymore.
I truthfully like to have company over. The dreaded CCC Day is worth it especially on those mornings when the coffee pot is going strong and people wander out in their pajamas to sit on the porch and chat for hours. It is then that I remind myself and him that the cleaning is worth it, even with the mismatched coffee mugs.
