The missing Chinese proverb—and a stroke of luck

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away…No!

It wasn’t a galaxy far away.  It was just something lost in the mists of my mind.

I think it was a Chinese proverb.  But it might have been Japanese.  Or something somebody made up.  (Some days the mists are foggier than others.)  I just don’t really remember, and I’m sorry about that…because I like to give credit where it is due.

However, the proverb—whatever its origin—was something to the effect that you should treat your house as if an honored guest were about to visit.

We all know what that means, right?

Impending guests, honored or not, tend to jump start the housework.

Suddenly, we look around, and we see things with new eyes.  Truth be told, they are probably far sharper eyes than any guest is likely to bring.  And, honestly, my most honored guests are the ones I can trust to turn a blind eye to some of my less-than-perfect housekeeping.  Nonetheless, a guest on the horizon is a definite motivator.

I’ve had a stroke of luck recently along those lines.

I was expecting an especially honored guest around the end of May.  Much cleaning and polishing occurred.  (And some actual decorating, because, see, the guest room was not actually ready at the point the invitation was issued and accepted.)  And then my honored guest was unable to come for the anticipated visit.

But my house was clean, and my guest room ready, so I figured I was ahead of the game.  Plus, it wasn’t a straight-out cancellation, but rather a postponement.  So, now, whenever housework weighs heavily—and you know it does, because there is always something more interesting to do—but whenever it weighs heavily, I remember that the honored guest is still pending.

And I gather up my dust cloths and my vacuum attachments and I get to work.  There are still a few months to go before the rescheduled arrival, but I figure it will be easier to keep the house clean on an ongoing basis than to launch a massive recovery effort closer to time.

And you know what?

I like having a clean house.

It’s okay if I turn out to be the honored guest.