Yesterday, when driving to pick up Hazel. Yes, driving because Jude has had some up and down fever thing for going on 5 days now and Jon was in PA at a job interview so school pick up was a PITA and in a car. Yucko.
Anyway, while driving to go get Hazel we passed all the recycling that people had put out for collection yesterday. I must say before I get to the meat of the matter, that it often surprises me to live in such a high average income (or at least high average spending) neighborhood. There are constant little reminders that never fail to surprise me when I notice them. Like going to a neighbors house to drop something off and being greeted by the cleaner. Not that all of our neighbors (and us!) didn't have cleaners in France, but they were gov't subsidized. Here we just live in mess. Still it did make me feel better about not being able to clean my house, when clearly they find their own overwhelming too.
Then there was the day I popped over to talk to the mom of one of Jude's friends and her laundry was in bags on the doorstep waiting for pick up. Now I am all for sending laundry out when lives are busy, but this is a house with a 9 yo and a 6 yo (and that's it) and a stay at home mom. To be fair we are often inundated with clean unput-away laundry, but that wouldn't change if I sent it out. It would still have to be put away when clean, and somehow even with 4 kids I don't seem to have a problem keeping up with the dirty stuff.
And now, it is spring. The trees are blooming, allergies are flairing and the grass is ready for it's first spring cut. Fortunately a lawn mower came with our house because we couldn't borrow one from any of the neighbors. They all have lawn services. Actually the same lawn service. Their truck, much to Simon's delight, has been working on a different house around us everyday for about a week. We are the lone house to escape treatment. We better get out there and mow the lawn or it will be more obvious that we are the lowbrows bringing the neighborhood down.
As you can tell, I am somewhat ambivalent about all this. I would LOVE a cleaning service and, in a house that we are not going to stay in over the summer, we would LOVE a yard service as well. So the green goo sets in a bit when I see all this happening in houses that cost a minimum of $800k for about the same space as ours in NC. But the schools are amazing and the neighbors are very friendly and yesterday we scored big time from the inhabitants of the giant house up the street from us.
Apparently their children have grown up a bit and are done with the playthings of their early youth. Thus a small basketball hoop and two, yes two, Little Tykes playhouses were on the curb yesterday just waiting for us to take them away. Actually we left the basketball hoop and took the house we liked the best. Jude pushed Simon in the stroller and Willa pulled the wagon and Hazel oohed and aahed over the lovely blue roof and green shutters. I have a gorgeous bruise on my shoulder where the darn thing fell on me (twice!) as I maneuvered it up onto the patio. Those houses are heavy!
It was a bit dirty so we sprayed it with the hose and Simon got a 'bit' wet. He thought that was brilliant. Then he and Hazel spent a good hour going in and out, just with the joy of having a door that Simon could open and close himself. Hazel insisted that I come in, "It's very big Mommy!" When I stood next to it and pointed out that I was, in fact, taller than the roof, her jaw nearly hit the patio and then her face fell completely. I guess I haven't been as bad as I thought of talking to her at her level since apparently until yesterday afternoon she had never fully realized how much bigger I am than she.
So I told her I was a giant and everyone ran screaming into the house except Willa, who was doing her homework while watching and yelling, "Shut the shutters! Shut the shutters, or she'll get you!" and I tried to be appropriately giantlike and scary.
Later Willa asked me why the house up the street had had two houses. I said I didn't know and suggested that maybe they had twin girls and wanted to be fair. She gave me a blank look and said, "Why girls?" Fair point. Then she said,"And why get two of the same? Wouldn't it be more fun to have two different ones?" I didn't know how to answer that one without getting into sibling rivalry and trying to appear to be fair and whether or not it's okay to force kids to share, so I shrugged.
I am sure she was thinking the same as I was really. If they had gotten two different ones, we could have taken both and had a village! How Cool! As it is we have a little house that we never ever thought we would find. They are way more than we pay for kid's things when new, and they go like hotcakes at garage and consignment sales. I refuse get up early enough to end up as the lucky purchaser at those events. And now I don't have too!
I also saw a really nice teapot the other day on top on a bag that I almost took. While I might sometimes feel weird about living here and being in a different economic state to my neighbors, I think I am very much looking forward to what the rest of spring cleaning will bring us.
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