Don't dilly dally on the way

Up bright and early for cleaning day! Pfft.

The guest room is now pristine although we haven't had any guests since Stella Cat came to stay. But the room had been used as a dumping ground for 'things we didn't know what to do with'. Like the cot, which is now on Freecycle and standing in the middle of our hall, meaning we have to walk around it to get anywhere. (I wonder how long it will stay there ...)

Also the paintings I mentioned previously now distributed except for one that is to go to a charity shop. But I am left with lots of framed family photos. You know each time you get an updated group photo you replace the earlier? Well, what do you do with the earlier one?

I asked Husband to put them in the attic.
"Why?"
"Because they're family photos."
"Which you're not going to see if they're in the attic."
"Yes, but I can't get rid of them."

They're in the attic now. 

Husband's point is that we should be trying to empty the attic, declutter etc. Yes, yes, I know.

From there it was on to the bathroom. Singing as I work, I finish, "My old man said follow the van and don't dilly dally on the way," and begin on, "Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do," and that's when my mind takes a wander into the past.

The Daisy song was one I used when rocking Daughter to sleep when she was a baby. In fact I used it for all the children and grandchildren. Then I remembered something my mother-in-law said.

We were staying with them and the rest of the family had come for tea. Daughter was a bit older then and MIL told everyone how when they'd come to stay with us and we'd taken Daughter to buy shoes and she'd stood in the middle of the shop and sung Daisy, Daisy. "Everyone stood and watched," MIL went on.

I frowned. "I don't remember that." And it's not the sort of thing you forget.

"Don't you?" said MIL. "Oh yes, she sang it perfectly."

The fact that I didn't have any memory of it whatsoever puzzled me, as did the idea of shy daughter standing in front of people and singing. So this incident came into my mind as I sang and cleaned the shower. And another thought occurred to me.

When the in-laws visited they'd come on a Saturday morning and leave on the Sunday morning. Time was precious so how likely was it that we'd have used it to go shoe shopping? Not very. So I am fairly certain it didn't happen. Was it one of those false memories that older people - and Elder Son* - are prone to? There were other instances so possibly. 

The relationship between me and MIL wasn't great and I regret not making more of an effort, being more gracious. Too late now.

This photo is one of the few dated ones we have. December 1992, nearly thirty-one years ago. Before I had a hairdresser.

* I shall get feedback from Elder Son on this I am sure!

And now it's still only 11.30 in the morning. I could do some more cleaning . . .

Or submit a manuscript to two publishers! Go me again! The advantage of everything being done online these days is that it's much easier to submit and to get a rejection because it's not like I had to put any effort into submitting. So I can just brush it aside.

Who am I kidding? Every rejection hurts.