Sometimes it is the little things that make a difference. For starters, the General and I sat outside on the front porch yesterday evening. Trust me, had the weather not been atypical for July, I could not have coaxed her outside the house. She doesn't enjoy hot weather.
When she was a kid growing up, she lived the life of Cinderella. She did ALL of the housework. Her mother enjoyed gardening and being outdoors. Consequently, it was a tradeoff. The General worked indoors, and her mother worked outdoors.
Treva had two younger siblings who mostly lived the life of Riley. I suspect the sister will push back on that statement. For that matter, so will her brother. However, I have it from a good source that the General did more than her fair share.
The General is not one to complain (not totally true) about her current situation, but she still does more than her fair share. She lives on the sound principle, "If you want it done right, do it yourself." To her credit, she keeps the house meticulously clean and in order. If my closet is unkempt, she closes the door. She can only bend so far without breaking.
She was insistent when we had this house built, she was not going to share a closet with me. The way I see it, that spared me a lot of grief and probably was a venue for a mostly stress-free life for the General. The little yellow tags that come on each piece of clothing when you pick them up at the cleaners, could be the catalyst for the General to go haywire, so to speak, if she saw one of them on the floor.
It would have taken a split second for her to personally eradicate the little yellow tag, but she wasn't going to pass up a teaching moment for "good ole Don." No siree! She never ever twisted my ear and walked me back into the closet to pick up a yellow tag, but she did make it perfectly clear…You get my drift.
Truth be told, I spent most of yesterday on the front porch with my computer in hand. I like being outdoors and the weather was conducive to being outside without risk of a sun stroke. I guess you could say, "I had it made in the shade." It was a great place to get my work done on the computer.
Rain had been in the forecast, but by mid-afternoon, it was fairly obvious that wasn't going to happen. Did I mention I've been wrong before? It was still light outside when the rain came, and we figuratively danced in the rain. We have two 5-gallon buckets that we use to catch rainwater coming off of the house to use on plants.
When the rain started it was CODE RED. The empty buckets had to be put in place. Even I, didn't have to be told that. We also scurred to find other containers in which to catch water.
We have come to enjoy indoor plants, and nothing perks their systems like rainwater. In addition, the few xeriscape plants that we have in the yard also benefit from having stored rainwater when available.
Disclaimer: The General has never complained to me about the responsibilities for doing housework that "fell her lot" during childhood. She mostly doesn't complain now, but sometimes I push the envelope.
All My BEST!
Don
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