What We Did This Weekend - Payback

I knew I would pay for the weekend of beaches and sand and dead crabs. I just knew it.

Seeing that we left the house in a bit of a rush last weekend - so much of a rush that it probably looked like we were fleeing from the law - there was a bit of catch-up work to be done around the house.

The laundry monster reared its ugly head. It was bigger and more ferocious than normal. And...there was a lot of sand that it seemed to have tracked in on its stinky feet.

It is 9:19 pm and the monster has been reduced to a quivering, whimpering lump. But I will not stop until it is dead. Completely. One more load to go.

The lawn has also been tamed. The Pacific Northwest can work magic on the normal lawn grass. We had some rain, then a week of 80 degree weather. The lawn mower was choking on the thick carpet of luscious-ness for the better part of an hour. I whispered sweet nothings in its ear, encouraging it to just make it through one more time.

"The temperature is supposed to drop 20 degrees tomorrow and there's no end in sight. You can sleep in the shed until spring....I promise."

Socks have been matched. As usual there were some that cited irreconcilable differences and traveled to Jamaica to get their groove back. Or at least that's where I think they went.

Summer clothes were wrestled unwillingly into boxes even though I know that there is no possible way the girls will fit into them by the time the balmy weather returns. The closets and drawers are once again jammed with the bulk and itch of autumn. I love everything about autumn - except the closet space.

Looking back on it, the trip was still worth every last grain of sand that got tracked into the house.

It was perfect.