A letter to my friends and family

Dear friends and family,

I'm tired of stressing out over how my home looks when you suddenly arrive or even when you plan to arrive well in advance.  I often stay up late into the wee hours of the night cleaning cracks and crevices that you never even notice, but that I somehow THINK you'll notice if I don't clean.

Today I'm declaring I'm not doing that anymore.  We live here, our house is lived in.  Yes, I know that some of you are the epitome of awesomeness and manage to put your spotlessly clean home as your number 1 priority.  I marvel when I come into your homes how amazingly fresh smelling and beautiful your abode is.  I wish I were you on some level, but I'm not.

So I woke up today feeling a confession on my heart and here it is.

My tub needs to be cleaned.......badly.  Good thing you're not here to take a bath.  So I'll shut the curtain.  If you look in there, that's your problem. Speaking of the bathroom, I noticed this morning that the corners in my bathroom have some serious dust bunnies.  I'm sorry, but I don't have time to clean those today.  I did, however, clean the toilet, wipe out the sink and put up a new hand towel prior to your arrival.  Yeah, I'm cool like that.

I probably have dishes in the sink.  That's kind of the way it goes when you have 5 people living here.  Please be happy for us.  That's a sign that we have plenty to eat.

I'm not sure when I last swept the kitchen floor, but I think I saw Greg doing it last night.  I did see that my kids didn't clean up the jelly mess they made on the kitchen table.  I may or may not wipe that off right away.

I see that the laundry basket is overflowing in the hall way.  I tried to pick up the clothes enough so that you won't have to step on anything.  Again, I blame this on the fact that we have 5 people who wear clothes and I don't feel like doing laundry every single day of the week.

Ah, let's address the dogs.  Yes, I realize I'm not the normal person here.  I have 5 dogs who live inside.  I'm just praying that the delicious Scentsy pots I have strategically placed around my home counteract the doggie smell on some level.  If you leave here with a dog hair on your shirt, I apologize, but yeah, they kinda live here too.

I think I might try to move the pile of clean laundry from the couch before you arrive, but if you see a stray sock or wash cloth here and there, please don't be alarmed. 

I am tired of stressing before you arrive.  You see, cleaning my home to a show room condition has never been on MY priority list.  My grandma (pick one, this applies to them all) would be mortified to know I rarely make my bed,  I don't vacuum the carpet on a schedule and I sometimes don't dust the furniture/tv, etc until I see someone has left me a note on it.  

I believe there's a difference in unsanitary living conditions and a home being loved and lived in.  My home is the latter.

If you're here and I don't have a look of panic on my face when you step in, it's because I love you enough to welcome you into our home, just as it is.  You're one of us. 

I'm done stressing out over the condition of my home.  Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

Sincerely,
Me