Mom's Best Friend

Almost every time I am at another mom's house, she at some point apologizes for the way her house looks. Maybe it's the dirty dishes still in the kitchen sink, or the wet diaper that hasn't made it to the trash can yet. Sometimes they apologize for the massive amounts of toys that I have to step over or the crusty food that is on the ground under the dining table. And occasionally, I will be warned before I have to open a door that she had strategically left shut - you know, the door to the room that guests aren't supposed to ever see so you throw everything in there and don't worry about cleaning it.

What the other moms don't realize, is that nothing makes me happier than to visit another mom's house that is just as messy as mine. Or even better, to visit a house that is messier than mine. I have to admit that I get just a little satisfaction in knowing that I am not the only one living on the brink of chaos.

Any one who knows me (especially anyone who has ever lived with me) knows that I am not the neatest person. In fact, I can get really, really messy. But the funny thing is, I have always loved organizing and really DO enjoy living in a clean house. Yet, no matter how hard I try, it seems impossible to keep everything picked up. This is really hard to explain to those people who are naturally neat. I just can't do it.

As my mom friends are apologizing for their messy house (which secretly makes me happy), they are failing to notice that we are not sitting at my house. Even though I know they don't expect my house to be clean, I still have trouble letting people come over if our house hasn't at least been vacuumed to remove all the dog hair. But I always reassure my friends, saying, "Trust me. My house is just as messy as yours." Except for one thing. I don't have food on my floors.

And, no, this isn't because I have some great obsession with cleaning my floors or because my kids are just really neat eaters. This is because I have a dog. A big, annoying lab/husky mix that I don't really pay much attention to until meal time. Every time I drop something on the floor, she comes running over to eat it up. In fact, even if she doesn't come running right away, I just leave whatever I dropped on the floor, knowing she will eventually be by to pick up after me. Saves me a lot of time and energy. Just the other day, I dropped an entire bowl of baby cereal upside down on the floor. No problem here. Just called in the dog and she licked it right up. Gross, huh? Well, at least my floors are clean.

Now, if I could just figure out how to keep her from shedding, she might be the best thing I own.