Apprehension

I've been able to keep up my complete early morning housekeeping routine over the weekend, but the coming week is going to be a challenging one. Christmas is less than two weeks away and there's lots still to do in the way of shopping and wrapping. I'm headed home to New England for the holidays, so I've got packing to do, too. A co-worker is on vacation next week, so I'm going to be covering her job as well as my own for the next five days. All told, it's going to be a crazy week - with lots of temptation to cut corners here and there. And I'll be just plain tired. I'm going to see if I can stick it out, though. Having a tidy (well, tidier) apartment to come home to is going to make a difference. So will having a good, hot breakfast every morning.

I'm sure a '40s housewife with even the best-run household sometimes faced weeks like mine. Maybe she had unexpected houseguests when things were already hectic. Maybe she had trouble keeping up with her normal chores when she was turning the house inside out for spring cleaning. Maybe she had three youngsters sick in bed with chicken pox at the same time. A housekeeping routine probably comes in handiest at times like these. When you've got a fully-stocked pantry and clean linens in the closet, you can deal a little more smoothly with unexpected disruptions. That's the theory anyway. I guess I'll put it to the test tomorrow...