Why I have dust bunnies and a long to-do list

I have a long to-do list. Sometimes it is an actual written list, most often it is carried in my head. And dropped occasionally and lost for days on end.

Don't get me wrong, things that MUST be done get done. In decades of paying bills, I think I've only been late 2-3 times. I have only missed one appointment that I can recall, and it was due to a death in the family. What I am saying is that I truly am a responsible person, but the older I get, the less important some things seem.

Is your refrigerator spotless? Mine is if you mean do I have a dog named Spot who is not sitting in the refrigerator, therefore rendering it Spot-less.

Are your floors free of lint, hair and cracker crumbs? They are? You don't sew or knit, do you? Or shed? Or have a 3 year old grandson who loves crackers?

Could your furniture pass the white glove test? Who the heck wears white gloves anymore and shame on them for running their hands over your furniture! Dang imperious busy bodies!

* Ahem * where was I?

Oh yes, I was talking about losing my mind to-do lists.

Don't you ever have a day where you plan to clean bathrooms, mop the kitchen floor and cook a spectacular dinner but something more interesting comes along?

Lunch with a friend! Sorting old photos and walking down memory lane!  Making a pacifier for a snake!

What?

I think I saw smiles and head nods until I got to the snake part. Surely I can't be the only person with a snake that needed a pacifier?

This silly snake was a prototype for snakes that I made for a friend who was in charge of vacation Bible school a few summers ago. The snake is made of green fleece with felt eyes and tongue. I'm not sure why I kept him. Perhaps I knew that Colton would one day be in my life and would love to chase and be chased by the snake. Colton now hisses almost as well as Papa does!

Papa teases Colton that his pacifier is really Papa's pacifier. This is partly to encourage Colton to give up the pacifier and partly because everything becomes a game between grandpa and grandson.

If the pacifier is lost, Colton calls for it "Paci! Paci, where are you?" One day Papa and the snake found it but the snake had to give it up for nap time. The poor snake felt so left out, not having his own paci.

I simply could not wash a tub when there was a snake feeling neglected. Not as long as the snake was made of fleece and felt.

Isn't it better to have a gleam in a felt snake's eye than to have a spotless house? (Please, please, please say yes!)

The next time Colton comes to visit, I will have a new excuse to not get anything done. I now have a pet dragon named Smoulder. Smoulder is part of the Melissa & Doug puppet line. According to the hang tag, puppets teach manual dexterity, hand-eye coordination and encourage speech development and imagination.

Huh? Is this supposed to be for kids? I bought Smoulder for ME, but I will play with Colton with him. I just hope I don't have to teach him about sharing. Not him sharing...Me. I don't wanna.

"Smoulder the Dragon: No matter how hard Smoulder tries to breathe fire, he is unable to ignite a spark. All he is able to produce are tiny smoke rings and an occasional mouthful of ash."

 

Tell me that description is more fitting of a 60 year old than a child!

 

Move outta the way dust bunnies, I have puppet practice coming up!