My honey and I are planning another trip on his big rig. This time it will be a farewell for now journey. After over two years of spending most of our time apart we decided the money he makes isn’t as important as being together.

He will begin receiving his social security and supplement his income with a school bus driving job. We are both excited that he is making this move, and I’ve been thinking of ways to decrease our household budget. One way I’ve tried to begin economizing is to let the housekeepers go.

I really hated to do this for more reasons than one. The ladies who helped keep our rather large home neat and clean were much more than hired help. They were friends. It made me happy to provide them with a job, and I looked forward to our weekly visits. We caught up on what was happening in each family as they worked. I’m sure we will all miss the time we spent together as well as the help we each provided.

With this in mind I’ll get on with my story. The other morning I was feeling pretty good about how well I had been keeping up with the house. The floors weren’t quite up to the “you could eat off her floors” comment, but they were absolutely looking good.

When I came from the bedroom into the main part of the house I noticed the pesky back door had come open again.

I really need to be more careful with that door. It doesn’t seem to latch correctly; maybe Mike can take a look at it when he gets home. I’ll just put that on the list!

Smiling at the thought of his homecoming and how well the house was looking I firmly closed the door. The next thing I noticed was a mockingbird flying around the sunroom. Missy noticed it too and began barking and chasing it from room to room. I quickly opened both doors to the backyard and ran to get a broom.

Thankfully, when I retrieved the broom and hurried to shoo the bird outside it had already found it’s way out. I’m sure the creature was as relieved as I was, and Missy had surely enjoyed the excitement. I didn’t quite realize that this little episode was not completely over until I noticed bird droppings all over my pretty, clean floors!

Out came the mop bucket and pail. I prefer the old fashioned cleaning methods to the more modern and supposedly time saving techniques. I think I’ll even try to make my own cleaning products instead of using all the chemicals. It will be less expensive and more environmentally friendly too, I think. I believe I’ve heard of a recipe for glass and floor cleaner that uses white vinegar as a base. After another hour of cleaning the floors sparkled, the house smelled fresh, and I checked the back door one more time just to be sure!

Jan Penton Miller can be reached at lilsisjan@yahoo.com.