My Big Accomplishment

Well, I spent my Saturday cleaning out the garage and doing laundry. My goal was to get those 2 things completed. If anyone really knows Passionfruit and I, we are pack rats. Even though we are both pack rats Passionfruit and I differ. Passionfruit has a problem with decision making. He believes that if he gets rid of something that he might need it 2 months later. Let me describe the normal things that Passionfruit finds difficult to throw away-- it's anything! A piece of string becomes invaluable because you just might need to tight something up in the next, oh I don't know, 20 years. Take last night I found some sort of plastic thing. It was quite obiviously broken. I threw it away. I did this right in front of Passionfruit. Passionfruit reaches in and takes it out. Examines it and puts it back where I found it. I picked it up and threw in the trash again. Passionfruit takes it out of the trash again and starts to lecture me because it could possibly belong to something. And then he went on and talked about how we will find whatever it is that it belongs to. I mentioned that it was BROKEN. That didn't seem to matter. So there it sits in my bathroom waiting for the future reunion, that most likely won't happen.

Back to the garage-- Saturday was the first day of Chinese school DQ and MI go to Chinese school. Passionfruit takes them, and he takes a class, too. So I was going to be alone with ST. I get to work at 8:00 AM. ST assists me from time to time but I'm pretty much going it alone. I start on the North wall first. It's the easiest wall. It had been cleaned before. Then I progressed to the East wall. Again, there is not as much there as the South bay. Much of it is the bikes and the wagon for the kids. I get these two sections done. I feel really, really good about all of this. I mean the garage looks really, really good.

Now I'm hungry. So I break for lunch and some laundry folding. I cool down. Take a bathroom break. Drink lots and lots of water, water in a glass with ice cubes. I get a call from Passionfruit asking whether or not to take the kids he has to lunch. I say, "SURE!" I'm thinking, "Great! Now I have more time to work without the meddling hubby!"

So I scurry back into the garage and start working on the most difficult part of the garage: the South bay. By the way it's a 3 car garage. As I work I discover that most of the stuff is empty boxes. I find boxes of clothes that I meant to give away to some sort of charity. I have a couple of boxes of kids shoes, too. Some of them have never been worn. Other shoes have very little wear and tear. I'm looking at all this stuff wondering what to do with it.

Then I remember that the Faculty Association is having a garage sale soon. So I'm going to donate all these boxes of stuff to that. I'm even giving my big old limo stroller away (seats 2 kids). I do have some trepidation about giving all this stuff away. It's my talisman against getting pregnant. This morning while I was packing up the baby bumper; comforter, sheets; crib skirt, and the mobile, I thought about having another baby. Well I decided that it shouldn't matter because if I do get pregnant then I deserve another baby shower. After all, I've waited 5+ years before getting pregnant again. Plus it would be my luck to have a boy this time.

While I'm working away up drives Passionfruit. I can see his face. It reminds me of the pictures of soldiers suffering from shell shock. The kids hop out and act normallly. They're pretty interested in the activity too because I've unearthed alot of their toys they haven't seen for several months to years. I'm already for the ensuing fight. I'm ready to demonstrate that I have my recycling piles all organized. Finally Passionfruit steps out of the car. He walks right past me in what can only be described as a hurried pace. What's going on? I ask DQ where's your dad going? DQ says that he is going in to watch the football game. BINGO! I've strucked gold once again. Passionfruit must watch the games for the schools he's attended. I continue to work away.

At one point Passionfruit comes out to the garage. He asks where he can help? I tell him he can go watch his football game. Passionfruit tells me that it is half-time. BUMMER! I think. Okay. So I set him to working. I'm amazed he's not pitching a fit. Okay! Is this the invasion of the body snatchers? The hours continue to wear on.

Somewhere along the way Passionfruit suggests that it is dinner time. I tell him, "NO! I've got to keep going." So I work until 8PM. It's been 12 hours. I'm filthy, grimy and sweaty. But I feel so good. I got the garage cleaned out. I realize that this is the first time over 12 years of marriage that I've cleaned out a garage. It's the first time in 3 years to clean out this particular garage. I didn't realize that this garage is so large. It's great. It's huge. It's wonderful to walk into it with bare feet. I feel so successful I'm ready to get to work on my bedroom. Really cleaning out the garage was the first step in cleaning my bedroom. Once my bedroom is done I'm planning to go to town on the study that Passionfruit occupies. Of course I know that that won't be easy, and Passionfruit will behave very territorial. I think a fight might ensue because he'll feel threatened. But that won't be for a while yet.

Later that night I asked Passionfruit how he felt about the garage. He said he was really proud of what we accomplished. He did tell me that when he drove up he could tell that I was in my "get it done mode". I don't think Passionfruit ever, has a get it done mode. He has more of a "ponder it mode". I always laugh at him when he talks about his sister having an inertia problem. To me it seems to effect him, too. I would never say this to him but I think it's pretty true. I don't know about his sister. Actually I think she's more like me. She'd rather read a good book than do house work. No shame there really. We just aren't the neat freak type.