24 Hours and Counting

My kitchen smells like bacon. Last night we had bacon and eggs for dinner and it smelled and tasted wonderful. This morning the lingering day-old smell of bacon is not so heavenly. Apparently the dog doesn't agree because he keeps walking around with his nose up in the air sniffing and giving me those sad puppy dog stares Well, the sad eye look is only in one eye because he's blind in one eye and the bad eye just has a glazed over vacant look, which in and of itself is pretty sad.

Anywho, my kitchen smells like stale, leftover bacon. My house is a wreck as the boys are frantically filling every available space with stuff to take back to school. There are boxes everywhere. The cat, who's figured out something is going on, is rummaging through the clothes, books, electrical equipment, and such. I can't decide if she's trying to figure out a way to stow away or if she's making sure the boys don't abscond with some of her toys.

And me ... I'm trying hard not to lose control and run screaming through the house (though at this point it is tempting as those boys need to get their rears out of bed and finish packing). It's not that I'm trying to avoid a meltdown due to the impending empty nest that is about to be. In fact I've gotten rather used to having it be just me and the hubs. No, what I'm trying to hold at bay is the anxiety I feel creeping in due to all the clutter that surrounds me.

I'm going to take a deep breath and behave myself today. I plan on looking past the mess and focus on enjoying the last day of having my sons at home. I'm not going to stress over getting a battery for the boy's car which sits dead in the driveway. I'm not going to worry about how all the crap that fills my house is going to fit into two automobiles. I'm not going to dread the eight hours of driving we face tomorrow. I'm not going to feel sorry for myself because the summer break is over and my boys are leaving home and I'm certainly not going to think about how it might be the last time for my oldest who is starting his senior year. I'm definitely not going to think about how quiet and empty this old house is going to be come this weekend.

What I am going to do is bask in the anticipation of reclaiming my space, free of clutter, and then I'm gonna come up with a plan for training the man of the house to put his dirty dishes in the dishwasher at the end of the day. Keep your fingers crossed!