Sorry Abut the Mess

by Randall Munroe, xkcd.com

My house is kind of a mess.

It’s not disgusting or anything, but it’s in a state of perpetual organized chaos which I occasionally vow to put right, attack, and then stop halfway through, leaving it in a different state of perpetual organized chaos which we then have to get used to again.

My husband likes to tease me about it, and sent me this recent xkcd comic. The alt-text reads, “‘Sorry, I left out my glass of water from last night.’ ‘OH GOD I APPARENTLY LIVE IN A GARBAGE PIT.’” If it were not for my constant vigilance, our glassware would be kept by my husband’s side of the bed, containing varying levels of unconsumed water.

I can live with my organized chaos. I know where everything is. That doesn’t mean I don’t try to keep the mess from overwhelming me or apologize to visitors for the mess that I know is there just because I ignore on a regular basis. 

Really, what I’m saying when I welcome people into my home with, “sorry it’s such a disaster in here,” is “don’t look over at the pile of random stuff on the bookshelf or the papers spread loosely across the desk. I forget to make it look nice on a daily basis, so I hope you will be so good as to forget it’s there as well.”