It's all clear to me now...

So you ever have one of those crystal-clear moments when you realize EXACTLY why you are friends with someone? Not just because you like them, of course you LIKE them, they're your friends! But you see very clearly WHY you like them???

Today I had one of those moments. My friend Heather is a neat freak. No, really...her favorite thing to do is clean. Yes, I said CLEAN! She is never more happy than when she is talking about cleaning products, and she is the only friend I know that actually gets excited if her husband buys her a new sweeper. So today, the kids and I went to Heather's house for a visit with her and her kids. Now, Heather and her husband just built a new house, and they've been in it all of one month. Not that I was suprised, mind you, but when I walked in, it was like they've lived there for years. Everything was in its place. She already had new furniture. All the pictures were hung perfectly. Not a box anywhere. Not a thing unfinished...no tools sitting out. It was BEAUTIFUL!

And I must admit, I was jealous.

Jealous with a capital "J".

Because I've been in my house for coming up on 2 years, and I still have boxes in the basement that need unpacked, pictures that need hung, tools that need put away, and just general clutter everywhere. Does it drive me crazy? Of course....I'm not a slob. I just can't ever seem to get enough time to get to it! So, what I want to know is, where does she find the time???? Are there ever going to be enough hours in the day? I'm starting to think the answer is a resounding NO. Not unless I want to make some drastic changes. Changes like:

*Not sleeping until the kids wake me up in the morning.

*Putting the kids in front of the TV all day on my days off so I can clean, clean, clean!

*Really making Barry mad by moving all his piles of papers... and truly disrupting his system of "organization".

*No more scrapbooking, cross-stitching, gardening, etc.

*Totally giving up on this blog thing....there would definitely be no time for that!

*No more trips to visit family on the weekends...holidays included!

* Oh yeah, and I'd probably have to give up my practice!

Now don't get me wrong! I'm not making fun of Heather, and of course, I'm being sarcastic. BUT, I am being totally honest when I say I don't know how she manages to get it all done and still be one of the best moms that I know. She is involved with everything her kids do, she has a great relationship with her husband, a clean and organized home, and still manages to come and see us in London every other month. She has a style all her own, and I'm proud to call her my friend. I guess maybe it's true when they say that we pick friends that have qualitites we wish we ourselves had! I'd love to have a little Heather in me! And just the same, I know she'd like to have a little Jen in her. She actually had a brilliant idea today...maybe we could work out a little co-op. She would come here once a month to clean my house, and I would go there once a month and fill her freezer with meals. Done Deal, I say! Especially if she cleans up the kitchen when I'm done!