Making Home

Rob has been out of commission for a couple days and so I’m the substitute homemaker here. I swear I’ve done about a dozen loads of laundry already. I've not had time for even one soap opera or episode of Divorce Court. I thought Rob sat home all day and watched TV while eating bonbons, or something, maybe intermixed with the occasional reading of Rosie's Blog ;-). Instead it turns out there’s a lot to do here, and after a couple days I find myself thankful for other things, beyond people lending a hand.

--The Roomba, my little robot helper. I conveniently got one for Rob for Christmas, and instead my gift has saved me from vacuuming. It’s also fun to watch it feel its way through the home while the dog runs from the thing in terror.

--Kraft Macaroni & Cheese—It’s the cheesiest. It’s also one thing I can make that Alan will eat. That, PB&H, and canned salmon from CostCo. He’s a particular eater, and so it’s that and take-out for him until Rob is back to normal.

--Now, I’ve had much multidisciplinary training in the sciences—I’m a PhD for goodness sake—but I can’t figure out how Tide’s bleach knows to bleach the ketchup stain on a white shirt but not the purposeful pigment on a red shirt. Regardless, I’m thankful for magic bleach.

--On the same topic, Downey. Rob’s mom never used it and so when we met he associated the smell with me. Keep your fancy colognes, the smell of Downey makes me feel attractive now, and I like using it.

--Sheeting action.

--And finally, the ipod. How did people do housework before podcasts?

Things for which I’m not thankful:

--Molten sugar. My blistered index finger could do a PSA on the dangers of grabbing a smoking pop tart from the toaster.

(Hmm… Maybe this back thing was all a ruse just to make me more thankful for Rob...)