Ukraine Adoption

The stop by

Years ago, people used to just stop by to visit for a while, a pleasant way to catch up with friends, family and neighbors. Nowadays, if the doorbell rings, we scramble, we panic, we wonder, we peek out the window. Whose car is that?

Then we race around and pick up the house or just try to keep them in one room that is not so bad. (Also known as the living room without the TV). It's really a shame that these visits have gone by the wayside because otherwise we don't really take enough time to chat with people that we really like. Our busy lives just don't have room for it.

So when John told me last week that someone stopped by when I was at work, the first thing going through my mind was: Oh no, were there dishes in the sink?

I have made a pact with my neighbor and a few of my friends that we will never notice that things may be out of place or toys may be scattered about if we ever do a drop by visit. But isn't it sort of like telling a jury to disregard a defendent's confession?

Have I told you about my Clutter Box? When I get a phone call that someone is stopping by (I love the warning, by the way) I will walk through the house and gather extraneous toys, magazines, shoes and baseball mitts into a big box that I put in the garage. Later, I tell the guilty parties to get their stuff out of the box and put it away if they want to keep it. Right now, there is still some stuff in the box in the garage but soon I will pour it into the trash. I'm sure they won't miss it. And I need to empty the box for that next phone call, warning me that someone is stopping by.

For those who just ring the bell, well, all bets are off.