This morning I opened our refrigerator to start the normal breakfast prep and pack a lunch for Handsome. Despite the dark, artsy fragrance of coffee brewing a few feet to my left, despite the clean, cold freshness of the tile floor beneath my bare feet and the calm black of the sky outside my kitchen window, I was suddenly and unpleasantly bowled over by an offensive, malodorous wretchedness billowing out from my side-by-side. If this smell had a color, it would be green. Putrid, slimy, witch's brew-with-eye-of-newt green. Grody. Like, gag me with a spoon grody.
I did a quick investigation and found, to my eternal dismay, that I am a hoarder of romaine lettuce, garlic cloves, and spinach leaves. Oh, and also lots of other things, but those were not the stinky headline this morning.
The odor instantly rearranged my priorities for the day, because I absolutely will not live with gross smells. So now, as I write this, the refrigerator has been emptied of nearly everything, even though only a few things had caused the problem. A giant chicken bowl full of donatable goodies, some sudsy hot vinegar water, and a vanilla candle later... and once again all is right in Denmark. The kitchen and the fridge smell lovely, and I am free to go purchase more romaine lettuce, garlic, and spinach.
Okay, not to get overly philosophical on this rainy Friday morning with a cup of coffee in front of me... I mean, seriously, I might as well be in a book store, wearing a knit hat and fake horn rimmed glasses here... but this morning's unexpected domestic task could not have come at a better time for yours truly.
Living with a dysfunction or some measure of pain can only be tolerated for so long before the source has to be identified and dealt with. Coping mechanisms and forgiveness and such are eventually only effective as healing balms for after the problem is solved, and I just don't think we can expect ourselves or our loved ones to always find the energy needed to overcome a deep pain with average, daily acts of love.
Don't get me wrong... I am in full support of average, daily acts of love; it's pretty much my favorite thing ever... but maybe you know what I'm talking about. Maybe you too have a deep pain which you are generally able to suppress and live with but which inevitably resurfaces and disrupts all of your peace and tranquility.
All I'm suggesting here is that once in a while it's wise to take an honest inventory of both your refrigerator and your heart and deal with the slimy lettuce. Because it stinks. And when you open either door, nobody can stand the smell.
And no sir, I did not take photos of the malodorous carnage. Besides, the chickens have eaten most of it by now.
You Can't Fake a Fresh Heart,
and You Can't Febreeze Major Appliances.
Be well.
xoxoxo
Sometimes in the midst of some deep seeded pain, a simple domestic task can help ease the soul. Now, take some time for yourself and enjoy the cleansing of this rain you are experiencing - inside and out.
ReplyDeleteXXX
P.S. Doesn't it make you mad when you find you've wasted good produce (at least your chickens are fed from it).
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Always, always, every single time, good to hear from you Heather. Yes, there is a lot of comfort in domesticity. And we certainly need both kinds of rain around here. xoxo YES to the waste frustration too! LOL Looking forward to growing my own produce soon so at least I haven't wasted mulah when this happens. LOL Glad you're back!
ReplyDeleteDon't buy anything green and put it in the frig, that way, stuff gone bad is easier to spot!
ReplyDeleteDennis. I have been trying since yesterday to extrapolate some age old wisdom from your comment, but I think maybe you're just looking out for B's diet preferences? LOL Well played sir.
DeleteBaking Soda box. Won't nab all the smell, but it will help!
ReplyDeleteHa!! Thanks Tiff. ; )
DeleteHaving just dealt with a similar fridge issue, myself, I can completely relate to this entire post. Your analogy is fantastic and there really is something about putting a domestic chore to rights that lends itself to contemplation of a deeper meaning. Thank you for this.
ReplyDeleteI, too, am a hoarder of Romaine lettuce. I don't know how that happens, it just does.
LOL Maybe it happens so we will find connections like this. Thanks S! xo
DeleteI got such a kick out of this post! (I know I've told you before but you have such a gift for words!) I'm the same way about smells. Just this week I kept smelling this awful smell near the kitchen. I stuck my nose in every sink, trashcan and corner of the kitchen and could NOT find the culprit. Finally my husband found a cup that one of my kids had left in the adjoining room that we ALL kept overlooking. It had originally contained milk. Enough said!
ReplyDeleteThank you Sonya!! And dairy smells...probably the worst! LOL
DeleteLove your words, too, Marie. And it always seems to fit into my life. I have just recently taken inventory of my heart, and am feeling relief already. Sometimes you just have to clear out the stink. Take care! ♥
ReplyDeleteThank you Tracy...xo You take care too. It's starting off to be a pretty great new year, huh?
DeleteYour words simultaneously serve as a balm, and as a "seam ripper" of sorts when it comes to the flimsy stitches I've put in place to keep my stink under wraps. No more wraps for me, apparently.
ReplyDeleteNo wraps needed, friend. xo
DeleteHa ha!
ReplyDeleteThey say that in dreams you home represents your body, your state of mind, etc and it needs a good cleaning once in a while. Usually we are pushed to this fact by something. Being human, we tend to know that this and that action will get me into this and that trouble. But only eventually. So we carry on a bit. We eat junk food because, hey, I ate it yesterday and I don't have cancer/diabetes/whatever, or I smoked for 5 years and I don't have cancer/emphysema/whatever. We are just stupid this way. We need the bad thing, the smell, to let us know that something is wrong and that it can't go on anymore. We never look for the consequences to our actions, rather we do what we like or what supports our laziness, hoping the stink never comes (because there is proof out there that for some people it actually doesn't come). And then when the s#$% hits the fan, we act like we don't know where it could've come from.
At least you went looking for and admitted the source. Some people just look up at the heaven and say why is this happening to me.
Anyway, loved your post and the insight. It seems that almost in every post I am reading today, people are being very analogical about the events in their lives.
Nadya, you have taken words straight for my messy, imbalanced brain. Been thinking a lot about pain management and the "cues" we receive and perceive and deal with in different ways...
DeleteI'd love to chat more about the 2012 patterns, about the seemingly global undercurrent of hope, that things are happening this year.
Thanks for chiming in!! xo