Rearranging my Life

It started out as simply cleaning the Den. I took the large duster and ran it under the loveseat. After several attempts, I could tell there was something caught underneath against the wall, so I decided to pull the loveseat out. Even the wall behind it had a coat of dust.

I began wiping down the walls and the window sill. Don came in and commented that I should check for toys in the bottom of the loveseat, so he turned it over. We stood in amazement and watched as toy after toy fell out of the bottom of this piece of furniture. Unbeknownst to me, there is a tear in the fabric under the cushions and, periodically, items that fall behind the cushions keep falling until they're caught between the springs and the dustcover across the bottom of the loveseat. We discovered a metal toy airplane, toy soldiers, a whistle, legos, one of Deanna's rings, several toy cars, play money, more legos, pieces from Daelyn's Pirate Play Set, two screwdrivers, some snowflakes from a puzzle of Dane's, a puzzle book, popcorn, pencils, two or three crayons, more legos, and DUST, DUST, DUST.

I furiously cleaned and then got a brainstorm - why not rearrange the Den? To some people, this is an everyday occurrence, like my sister, Trina, who rearranges her entire house for every season. But me???? No, that's not how I do things. I put furniture where I want it, and there it stays until we replace the furniture, we move, I die, or we add onto the house again (which, according to Don, will occur about the time Hell gets struck with a blizzard). I put things where I want them, where they can best be used, and where the rooms looks the best. Why would I change that?

So, here I was, rearranging my Den, knowing that as soon as that was done, I had to do the same thing to the living room to make room for our tree, which we're scheduled to get this afternoon and decorate tomorrow.

I put the loveseat back on a different wall and had enough space to move another leather recliner into the Den for me. The children sprawl on the loveseat and Don has his leather recliner with matching footstool. I always end up either squooshed amongst the children or on the floor - neither of which thrill me at 44 (and are both somewhat dangerous at this age, as well). Now, the children can have the loveseat and Don and I both have our own recliners.

Next, I worked on the living room, attempting to prepare it for a very large tree surrounded by a speeding train that plays Christmas music and wall-to-wall presents. I've done the best job I can do in there for now, but I'm not happy with the outcome. However, some things have to be laid aside. I still have the remainder of my cards to get out, all my baking to do, presents to purchase and wrap, and decorating, decorating - far too much to spend an entire day fussing over the lay-out of the living room.

Unfortunately, I moved the second leather recliner into the Den out of our bedroom, so now it must also be rearranged. I'm beginning to feel overwhelmed. I've decided that tonight, once the children are in bed, I'm sitting down with the calendar and planning out the remainder of the month. I'll set aside a day or two for decorating, a couple for baking, and lots for wrapping and shopping. If I can just stay on schedule, I may actually be able to pull off Christmas this year.

Here's hoping!!