I was watching a TV show today, doesn’t matter which one, and the lady of the house had drop-in guests. Guess what. Her house was in immaculate condition; perfectly cleaned and everything in its place. The guests were seated in the living room and she brought out a tray with the good china on it to serve coffee. Mind you, the guests, two men in their twenties, weren’t dressed up; they were wearing jeans and t-shirts. Does that warrant the good china? I guess so when it’s on TV. That’s one thing that has always puzzled me. Do scenes like this really happen on a daily basis when it’s not on television?
It always happens on soap operas. Not that I watch them, but I used to. Every now and again when I’m channel surfing I’ll pass by one and watch it for a minute or two and, wouldn’t you know it, the homes are always magazine cover perfect. No empty cups or dishes are on the tables in the living room, no toys on the floor, no pets roaming on the back of the sofa. That’s just not right. I can’t tell you how many shows and movies I’ve seen where drop-in guests were always welcomed with open arms; there was never any scrambling to tidy up quickly when the doorbell rang. Not even when the guest called minutes before arriving. Except on Roseanne, of course.
That’s one show where life imitated life. Roseanne didn’t break out the good china; they drank their coffee out of mugs. There were dirty dishes in the sink, and there were toys and school books in the living room. Her home looked like a home with a family in it; unless they were entertaining guests – new friends coming for dinner and whatnot. Then, of course, the house was cleaned beforehand but it was never made to look showroom perfect. Unlike the house I lived in as a kid.
My mom, whenever we were having company, would assign each of us – my sister, my dad, and me – to a different room and it was our responsibility to make sure it was perfectly clean well before time for our guests to arrive. I’d complain that she always wanted it to look too clean; I told her numerous times that people do live in the house and the people who were coming to visit had known us for years. They knew we lived there and that our house didn’t always look that way. Didn’t matter to my mother, though. The house had to be immaculate. That’s not the way it was when I had my own home.
In my townhome, with three kids, two cats and me, there were toys in the living room, dust on the furniture, my desk was always organized chaos, there were art supplies and unfinished drawings all over the kitchen table (Ty’s, of course), and any other number of things that indicated that a family actually resided in the home. Yes, I did clean the place; usually that was done on Fridays while the kids were in school, and so I could enjoy my weekends without having any chores to do. There were never any dirty dishes in the sink, though, that is a serious pet peeve of mine. Before I went to bed I’d actually wash the last glass I used during the day just so I wouldn’t wake up to a dirty glass in the sink.
I didn’t put on airs, though, pretending that my home was always in showroom condition. I didn't scramble around picking up this and that, or hurrying the kids to put their things away. Shit, if you dropped by, especially unannounced, you’d be lucky if I had anything but milk, water, or juice in the fridge. I don’t keep soda in the house so drop-ins generally didn’t have much of a choice. I don’t drink coffee so I didn’t have any in my house, nor did I have a coffee maker. I might offer a cup of tea but that would be served in a ceramic mug that may, or may not, have a matching mate in the cabinet.
My mother drank her coffee out of a mug unless we had company; then she just had to bring out the good cups with the saucers that actually matched the dinner plates –she didn’t put it on a tray to serve it, though, and nobody sat in the living room; everyone gathered in the kitchen. At least that was only semi-formal. I’ve got an entire set of dishes and I don’t think I’ve ever used the “good” cups and saucers. To Hell with that. Besides, you can fit more in a mug than in one of those tiny cups. And my friends carried their food, drinks, tea, or whatever, into whichever room they chose. We sat in the kitchen, the living room on the sofa, or they’d just pull a chair up to my desk and we’d sit there while we chatted.
I just don’t understand why television and movies portray houses as perfect when there are supposed to be families living in them. Seems a bit silly to me. Are we supposed to think that someone in the house actually cleans every day and makes sure that everything is put away properly? Even the Brady house wasn’t always ready for company, and they had Alice
But this is fiction, right? Think of all the shows and movies you’ve seen where there were kids in the household and how many of them ever showed a real mess in the kids’ rooms. Not many, I can tell you that. Yes, there are some out there; I just can’t recall any by name at this moment. Roseanne’s kids had messy rooms at times but right this second the Disney Channel is on showing “Good Luck, Charlie” and they’ve got two teenagers, a tween, and a toddler and there isn’t a mess in the living room, nor can I see any kid toys anywhere. Seriously?
I just don’t think I’d ever want to live like that. The way I see it is if you don't like the way my home looks, the door you walked in will also let you back out. Yes, I want my home to be neat and clean, and I would like my kids to actually pick up their belongings when they’re finished with them. Generally, before bedtime, I make sure they straighten up a bit, but I know they’ll never be neat freaks and I know I’ll always be on them to pick up and put away. I figure, as long as they know how to tidy up with me in the room, when they become adults they’ll know how to tidy up without me being there. I’m NOT going to college with them to give them their reminders, nor am I going to live like I'm afraid people might think I'm a slob. I'm not, but I'm also not a fanatic about cleaning. If you are, that's absolutely fine; you be you and I'll be me. J
I know this isn’t a huge issue in the World; I just thought I’d mention it. I couldn’t help it after watching that show today. I wasn’t even paying attention to the dialogue as much as I was looking around the room they were in, noticing just how clean everything looked. It just really hit me; I don’t know why, so stop asking. Anyway, this’ll give you something to think about for a little while, as least. Perhaps next time I’ll have something even better for you; perhaps not. I guess you’ll have to tune in to find out.
Until next time…peace to all.
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