MY EDITED LIFE: EXPOSING SOME WEEDS

       
                             

Hope no one went back here!

                                              
        I hosted a party last Sunday afternoon for a large neighborhood gathering.  I know the neighbors near me, but I’ve never met many of the people from other streets, and they would be seeing my house for the first time.  It is a very large historical house set back from the street so I know it’s a curiosity.  We are in a state of pretty constant repair and maintenance, especially in the yard.  Several weeks ago when I agreed to host the gathering it seemed like it would be no problem to have everything in tip-top shape.

Well, meanwhile, life happened.


                                

     First, I found out that this event coincided with my husband’s long planned backpacking trip.  I had no problem with him being gone on the day of the event but I didn’t calculate how much I would miss his heavy lifting in the days leading up to it.  I kept the inside of the house as my priority and I was confident about how it looked.  As the weekend neared it was obvious that I would never get some things tidied up in the yard.  Oh, and did I mention that we had just had a fence and wall re-built in the front yard and it wasn’t quite finished being painted and cleaned up?

                         

                    

       At some point, I decided on a kind of triage approach and I tried to camouflage some of the messy stuff by “artfully” stacking things, kind of clusters of garden tools and equipment instead of scattered.  When my daughter came by the day before the event she was surprised when she saw that there were weeds and plants running amok on the paths that flank the terrace where the bar was set up.  She said, “Mom, I can’t believe that you haven’t cleaned up your paths when you’re having an event?  That’s so unlike you.”  In the end, I just had to avert my eyes and let it be what it was going to be.

                                               

       The event went well and our neighborhood has started developing disaster preparation groups for each street.   Some met neighbors for the first time and many were able to spend time with people they usually just see backing out of their driveways.   It was a beautiful afternoon so after the meeting and eating, folks wandered in the yard and many gathered at the animal pen, which I had not even spruced up.  It is on the “driveway” side of the house with the tool shed and vegetable garden – also not in top shape. 

       
                                                       

       
          I have been cleaning up at a somewhat leisurely pace and thinking about how I edit what I present.  When it’s a party it takes a lot of work to make my house and yard look its best.  When it is on social media it is often just a choice of the angle I use when taking a photo, or which photo I choose.  When I am in the photo I always try to pick one that doesn’t highlight my flaws.  It’s the same with my house and yard.  I choose the angle without the weeds.  I think this is part of human nature, but it is easy to get caught up thinking that everyone else’s life is just a round of well-dressed parties, families, vacations, successes and smiling people.  There is a 12-Step saying that goes something like, “Don't compare your inside to someone else’s outside.”  I think this has been amplified by the controlled and edited life we share online.

                                   

Before the squirrels wiped out the flowers

                                   

       I am still going to choose the photos where my eyes aren’t shut and angle the flowers to hide the weeds, but I’m very happy that I was able to share my garden without frantically trying to get everything perfect.  I’m just sharing the weeds for a change.  


                             

After squirrels finished partying!