Have you ever heard the phrase “judge not lest ye be judged” or how about “don’t look at the sliver in your brother’s eye without first removing the plank from your own”?  How easy is it to make sure someone else is doing what they are supposed to and not pay attention to our own actions?  I have had several examples of this in my own life and I am pretty sure I’m not the only one.  Recently, my husband and I were running around the house trying to get it all “show-ready”. We have our house listed and if you’ve ever listed a house, you know how hectic this can be.  Those last-minute calls “hey my client drove by your house and wants to know if we can come and look at it”. Of course, you don’t want to say no because you want to sell your home, so the hurry-scurry of any last-minute details ensues.

One particular event occurred after a long afternoon of yardwork. I had just gone inside, put some rosemary oil on my hair (it’s supposed to make those irritating short strands of baby hair grow), and was getting ready to grab some ice water when my phone rang. It was a request to show our house in the next thirty minutes. I didn’t mention that I had just put a pot of corn on the cob on the stove and was going to fix dinner after my much-needed shower.  I placed the realtor on hold and ran outside to tell my husband about the request. He looked about as enthusiastic as me, but said “sure, we can be out”.  I told the realtor we’d be out in 30 minutes and the flurry of activity began.  I turned the burner off the stove, grabbed a hat for my oily head, and started straightening up. Mind you, our house is never too messy these days, because we want to be “show ready” but there are always those little details; make sure the carpet looks vacuumed, fluff the pillows, put the toilet lids down (I don’t know why this bugs me, but I don’t want them up during a showing), make sure the sinks are wiped out and dish-free, wipe the counter tops down, and anything else that looks out of place.  As we were getting ready to walk out the door; I asked my husband “did you put the toilet lid down upstairs.”  “Yes, let’s go. What stinks?” He replied and inquired.  Ha! “That would be me, I have Rosemary oil on my hair.” 

We went driving all over, and it turned into quite a fun drive. We discovered a cave in our neighborhood. Yes, a cave that you have to get a permit to go inside.  We stopped to read about the Cherokee history of this cave and marveled at how cool it was to have that piece of history in our own area.  Next, we drove to the top of the mountain and found an old cemetery. We walked around reading all the names and years of births and deaths.  We thought it was sad that one family had three infants in a row die at one year or less of age.  I brushed the weeds and debris from some of the headstones and replaced some of the flowers that had blown away. It felt like the right thing to do.  Walking around in a cemetery gives me this sense of quiet and respect; you can’t be silly or grumpy in a cemetery once you start reading the epitaphs and ages of the deceased.

After we left the cemetery, we drove a bit more, looked at the scenery, and decided to head home. I wondered why we don’t take more random drives and go explore areas rather than think we need to plan everything out. It’s the spur-of-the-moment, unplanned outings that turn out to be fun and educational. I made a mental note to plan to be more spontaneous. Kind of oxymoron like, I know.

  Once we got inside, we walked around turning lights off and turning down the AC that we had cranked up.  I walked into the master bath (which is “my” bathroom) and looked down in angst. I had been so concerned that my husband wouldn’t clean up his mess and put the toilet lid down, that I hadn’t done so on the master bath toilet AND it had a Kleenex inside that I had thrown in. How gross that must have looked and how embarrassed I was that I made that faux pas. I just shook my head and let it be a lesson to worry more about my own actions and less about others. My husband had done his part perfectly. Me-not so much.  Ah, so it goes, I mentally kicked myself, shook my head, and then laughed a little. I learn lessons in the most unexpected places or at the most unanticipated times. Lessons like be spontaneous, be open to learn new things, read the educational boards, visit a cemetery once in a great while just to put perspective on your own life, don’t worry about what others need to do before concentrating on yourself first.  Lastly, when you make a mistake; laugh at yourself, learn a lesson, vow to do better, and move on.