My Kitchen
Today I spent an hour visiting with my neighbor. It was really pleasant and I enjoyed myself. Then after an hour spent in her kitchen I walked back into mine. Suddenly I could clearly see the crumbs liberally scattered over all the flat surfaces. I could see the dishes on the counter and table left over from both breakfast and lunch. I could see the slopped-and-dried deposits of food all over my stove. It was the same kitchen I’d walked through only an hour earlier without seeing ANY of those things. They were there, but I didn’t SEE them. Why didn’t I see them? It took me less than 30 minutes to load the dishwasher, wipe all the counters, wipe the stove, and sweep the floor. Why didn’t I do those simple chores earlier in the day? I have some mental block about kitchen maintenance. If I’m interrupted before a kitchen job is completely finished, I won’t get back to it until the next time I have to feed myself or the children. And then it is usually crisis feeding which means that instead of cleaning as I go, I shove the mess aside in order to put food into mouths quickly. There are so many other things I’m so good at. How can I learn to be better at this?