Stormy Weather


The rain that has followed us all through December and January has continued into February, accompanied by quick flashy storms, ominous cloud formations and brief periods of sunniness. You can see people marvelling at the patches of illuminating warmth as they mouth to each other: Enjoy it while it lasts!

One thing the storms have made me realise is that I love stormy colours. The dusky pinks and gleaming greens look even more vibrant, mixed with the deep purples and blues above. Everything looks sort of richer against these moody daytime skies. But while these dark and brooding, Rochester days are romantic and stirring, it often takes the shafts of pure light to lift me out of their darker realms. I too easily sink into the lulling gloominess and find my energy levels reacting accordingly. What I'm trying to say is that, when it's rainy, I find it hard to get much done!
But once the bursts of sunlight appear: WHOOSH! I am transformed. I'm like a buzzing bee and almost as purposeful. I attack the ever-growing mouldering loads of washing and race to hang them out in the warming air to dry. But I don't rest there, I'm also combing through boxes of 'stuff' that have appeared in our back room following the rearranging of our kids' rooms and the arrival of bunk beds. 

One of my children is a hoarder. She gets it from me. I'd always had a rather romanticised view of 'ending up' in a house full of books, magazines and newspapers piled from floor to ceiling. I think I was well on the way to achieving my goal. Then I saw the television show called "Hoarders" (http://www.aetv.com/hoarders) and suddenly ending up that way didn't seem so much fun. The show is shocking and the personal devastation hoarding causes to the people profiled is hard to describe in its awfulness.
My daughter's piles of 'stuff' had been accumulating and it was time to break the cycle.  
As she agonised over every piece of paper (one to throw out, thirty-five to keep) I realised that this was a job for me alone. My husband found this hilariously ironic. I've tried to see the humour in it too. And am still trying.
So I'm more than grateful for the rare sunny day we had today. It spurred me on to restore our house (and sanity). I've promised myself/and the hoarder that we won't let it get as bad again (and if we start to slip up, my husband has promised to buy us the DVD set of HOARDERS for Christmas).

how my sideboard ended up looking for Valentine's Day

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