'...And Dirty Enough to be Happy'

I'm usually quite stiff when it comes to keeping the house clean. I sometimes have the tendency to take obsessiveness to ridiculous levels. I remember as a teen, sharing a bathroom with my two sisters. They hated having to share the bathroom with obsessive me. Everytime they would come out of the bathroom, I would bombard them with a gazillion ridiculous queries such as, 'Did you straighten the towel'? 'Did you leave any water marks on the faucet'?, 'Were you careless enough to land any droplets of water on the floor'? Now that I think about it, I don't know how my sisters put up with me. Poor souls. I'm sure that they must have been happy to be rid of me when I went away to college. Over the years, I have managed to be a little less compulsive now that I have a family, job, and house to balance- along with a few extra curricular activities that I would not bore my dear readers with. But I remember when we first got married, how my husband used to hate my constant nagging about leaving the bathroom without wiping and then polishing the faucets after washing his hands, or cleaning out a toothpaste speck on the bathroom mirror. I think I've mellowed out a bit- afterall I do live with a sack of testosterone who loves to eat medium-rare steak (cringe), watch football, and leave dirty socks on the floor. Actually I must have changed more than just a little. Right now as I sit at my laptop after dinner, sipping on a cup of tea, I am surprised to realize exactly HOW much I have changed. My laptop is sitting next to a cheese grater that should be tucked away in a drawer. My cheese grater is leaning against a 24 case of Dasani water, that should be hidden away in the cabinet, and the 24 pack of Dasani water is sitting shamelessly against a toddler sippy cup that probably needs to find its way to the dishwasher...yes, I could go on on... I am reminded of a little plate that used to sit on our living room shelf when I was a kid. I can clearly remember what it said, "My house. Clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy'. Right now, I am standing by this saying. I am standing by this saying all the way. Now please excuse me while I put a load of socks and underwear into the washer so we have something clean to change into tomorrow. Ahem.