Friday, August 5, 2011

The morning after . . .

This was my kitchen the morning after our latest party . . .


I have friends that could never go to bed and leave their kitchens looking like this . . .


And I have others that clean during the party, so by the time the guests leave, at least half the clutter has already been cleared . . .


I have still other friends that manage to get the guests to help, and the guests are more than delighted to do so . . .


And, yes, indeed . . . I have considered those options . . .


And I haven't discarded any of those ideas completely . . .


But for now, I love the morning after!  Seriously!  I really, really do!  For me, cleaning up is a meditation.  It allows me to re-live the party.  I think about what worked, and what didn't . . .  As I wash, I'm flooded by memories:  I smile at the conversations from the previous night.  I remember other parties, toasts, moments in time that were fun!  The older I get, the more tolerance I seem to have for people's outrageousness.  And then, I always say a quiet little prayer of thanks . . .

3 comments:

Barb said...

It is the good times that you had that counts. There will be plenty of time to clean. This is coming from someone who hardly ever leaves a mess but I tell myself to leave the mess and don't usually. But, really I think it is OK.

Jill said...

I'm a clean during the party one. I can't stand the thought of waking up to all those dishes. HATE cleaning! To me it's best to get it over with as quickly as possible. But I can definitely see how it would be meditative. I mean, I still HATE it. But I can totally see how you could enjoy it. :-) :-) :-)

The Tablescaper said...

I think I do a bit of both. I appreciate and accept the help, but have no problem leaving a bunch for morning. We seem to have soooo much company over the summer that I'm always looking for an extra hand.

- The Tablescaper