“I Like It Like That”

I awoke with a startle and a shiver. Time to make the coffee, one of my favorite things. It’s bloom of decadent goodness so enticing…so ready for my awaiting mug. Throwing on a long robe, I flew down the staircase, toes barely touching each step.

To the smooth, icy cold linoleum. Ugh! Oh! What was that? My heel slipped into some gooey confection. My next step flattened something that crunched with the remaining pieces stuck between my toes.  Then, I skidded on another morsel, a moist noodle.

Aha! The toe-fu of life.

What? I twirled around and felt something else scratch my heel.  What happened to my tucked in, just right kitchen that I left overnight?  I felt my eyes cross. What went on here?

Now this wasn’t a visit from some neighborhood vandals. Or furry, hungry varmints that had snuck in. No. This was the  second shift. That is …the family munchie hour that settled in after I said goodnight.

You see, at bedtime, I righted the couch cushions, fluffed the pillows, dried and stowed away left-over dishes and silverware, and ensured the floors and rugs were free of what-nots.

You got it, I like things ordered just right in the universe of my four walls and sunny windows.  A tidy, peaceful speck on this planet. 

But not everyone is like me. There are the folks who prefer things laid back and easy going ... a comfortable, lived-in experience. Just live and let be.

Its a world greatly divided by the Felixes and Oscars. Felix is  always cleaning and Oscar could care less about picking up a dust rag.

How in the world did I get this way? To being fully sold out to everything in order. Shiny and placed just so. Was I born like this? Hmm… Maybe so. But probably not.

I really don’t think babies arrive with a soapy sponge in their grip. Or a plunger in the other hand. But thinking back to my teen years, I recall a paint brush in hand, dustpan in the other and the cord of the vacuum wrapped around my shoulder. I hardly wonder why …with my dad away all day at his gas station, mom locked in her bedroom and my brother and sister out gallivanting about the neighborhood.

Hey, someone had to put things in the right place. And create from the mess, some kind of order.  And help create my peace of mind … of sorts.

Yes, the toe-fu of life. Could I grow to respect the other camp and they appreciate me? Perhaps leaning into the other camp might help. Having a wavy corn chip bite my heel could have an extraordinary message.  An inspiration of some kind. Perhaps a revelation that could possibly save us all.

Or maybe the bread crust between my toes really doesn’t matter.  Its no big deal … just brush it off and get on with things.

I bent over and whisked away the sharp chip; an irritant to me, incidental to others. Yes, some folks keep a laid-back pace of living and other folks keep things in order. Yet there can be room for both. But how? Perhaps by wanting to find the in-between place of being where both camps can appreciate each other’s differences. Making the better choice to live and let live and put aside the dusty rag.  

All I needed was a little attitude adjustment.

Hey, what was that!  I lifted my foot to see a round pretzel looped in-between my toes. Then looked down into the hopeful eyes and expectant slobber, as the visiting family dog snatched up the salty morsel. I chased him around the house, bumping and crashing into everything as he spewed doggie drool everywhere. What a mess! But it was okay. Laughing out loud, I knew I had just experienced one of those wonderful life moments. Hurrah!    

Yes, I would really like it like that.

… “ and that’s how I live it.”