Dear Jessica Brennan,
A couple of weeks ago, during the kind of impatience that can only come with a renovation, I noticed Dad’s way of almost putting things away.
He has a hook behind the door for his coat, but instead, he hangs his coat on the doorknob. He knows the pan lids go in the stove drawer, but he washes them and leaves them on the stove. He can find a wine glass when he wants wine, but when it’s time to put it away, he sets it on the buffet.
This “almost putting away” of things also shines a spotlight on something charming. Dad’s doing the dishes, running errands and dealing with all the grime that comes with food prep. He does his part willingly.
During a renovation that has covered the entire house with dust a few times over, my nerves are a bit thin. I’m clinging to what we can control, like hanging up coats and putting away dishes.
When I saw the pot lid sitting on the stove last week, I almost said something, but then a song popped into my head. So now, instead of mentioning these “almost put-aways,” I just hum the song. It is sung, or hummed in this case, to the tune of Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes’s “Up Where We Belong.” The new lyric is “Just Put Things Back Where They Belong.”
Love,
Mum xo
