House allegories - A

I love that my blog is about 'housewifery' because I feel all the freedom in the world to talk about boring things like scrubbing my floor. I spent today, our 3rd day in our new home, scrubbing the floors (which is something that a higher class mother would have gotten around to … oohh in like the 1st 30 seconds after discovering the filth.) We knew the house previously, so nothing, including the reliably unreliable apt. manager, came as a surprise but down on ones hand and knees, face to face with termites, cockroaches and mold... one beings to pontificate a bit much about the situation at hand (warning – pontificating can be done without internet... just not 'posting' – meaning you'll probably get a lot of these long rants in the coming months.) And this is what I thought:


Prov. 12:15 The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.
Prov 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

First, this house was built by North Americans. People who didn't know the climate, the bugs, or the fungi. They 'knew' what they wanted; what they liked – wood, windows, and air conditioners. The ever present stench of mold is a good reminder that humility is a good thing. They could have asked around, gotten advice, settled for 'different' and avoided a lot of trouble. We could all do the same, as we enter this world.... we have never been here before - but my children are proof that from day 1 we “know” what we want. They, and I, would do well to ask for some advice from someone who has been around awhile, or maybe even from the Creator – because the climate of life is a force to be reckoned with... even more than fungi.

Second, delayed maintenance is not maintenance at all – it is destruction. Things like termites and rot can not be 'dealt with tomorrow.' Or you get things like this:




It ain't pretty. We've all got relationship issues, personal struggles, or major crouching character flaws that we try to ignore until the damage is so apparent it is unrepairable. Like my house... there are so many things in my life that would have been easier to take care of yesterday.

So, that's it. Those are my thoughts from 5 hrs. of cleaning while the boys were off exploring the city. Things are good here - pretty much back to normal. We even found a truck – which is amazing! (and right now the boys are macheteing an area to park it in) Our house has been full of friends since we got back and our avocado seed even sprouted while we were gone and I think Dru and are going to start some sweet potatoes today. We have internet now – for a month – so we'll be in touch.







P.S. This is the photo of the day - Jude loves the fact that the bathroom has hole where the door-handle to bathroom is suppose to be - right at his eye level so he can make sure that 'that is really where Dru is' - if he hasn't seen him in a few minutes. (Welcome to a family with a 4 year old) (STAGED PHOTO)