Barbara J. Hamby

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Let’s Hear it for Messiness

I read an article in support of clutter and clutterers today. Why didn’t I think of writing that? It is so in opposition to the way I’ve tried to live all my life that it would be a great exercise for the creative side of my brain. I’ve always been frustrated when I can’t find anything and clutter hides a lot of stuff. In contrast, I’ve known messy people who can instantly dive into a pile on a desk and retrieve whatever it is that’s needed at the moment.

In my old age, my obsessive-compulsive neat-freak tendencies have moderated greatly. I’ve told our housecleaner not to even try to dust my office area. There is so little bare space anywhere that dust could cling to, that it would be futile to try.

This morning I was thinking about how little satisfaction I get from keeping the dishwasher, washer and dryer filled and emptied, in succession. Nothing like the old days when my dishpan hands pulled frozen diapers off a clothesline and scrubbed tile floors with a toothbrush. But I can live without that kind of satisfaction these days. My joints are grateful for modern conveniences.

Now I get my satisfaction from cooking a meal that tempts us to eat seconds or writing a poem that my peers critique with, “I wouldn’t change a word.” To be fair, most meals consist of heating food and not really what could be called cooking. And, most poems need a little or even a lot of help after the first draft.

And life goes on, thank goodness.