I thought it would be kinda fun to play off something Matt said in that second comment he made in the last post he wrote ("Matty in the Morning"). He was talking about how he wished he could be leaving more comments to what people were saying but that there was a "taskmaster" in the house, whom he playfully referred to as the Director of House Management (I'm pretty sure it was 'playful,' right Matty?).
Well, said "Director" has been located and is writing this post. We've been making really good progress in getting the house organized and clean and I'd say it's starting to look pretty nice. There's still a lot of things we'd like to do, but we're not killing ourselves to have everything look perfect.
One thing the "Director" is learning is that Matt had much rather be outdoors. The "Director" didn't realize this until after a few incidents where it was obvious Matt was feeling all closed in when assigned chores inside the house.
We sat down this weekend and talked about different things that needed attention, like the bathroom really needed a thorough cleaning, all the kitchen cabinets needed shelf paper, the closets needed organizing, the rooms that have carpeting needed vacuuming, etc., etc. Not insurmountable and really no big rush to get it all done in one day.
So, Matt agreed to do the vacuuming and clean the bathroom and the "Director" agreed to paper the kitchen cabinets and organize the closets.
So, Matt does the vacuuming first but had to keep calling the "Director" for help in moving pieces of furniture so he could get under things. Then the vacuum cleaner accidentally had a collision with this pole lamp we have in the living room and went crashing to the floor. He was trying really hard to do a good job, but accidents do happen sometimes.
After doing a really good job of cleaning up after the collision and completing all the vacuuming that needed to be done, he makes a suggestion that we take a break and I make us a little snack and relax with him. That relaxing break somehow got extended into a bunch of kissing and making out and what was meant to be just a brief period where we could catch our breath and talk, ended up leaving us, well, pretty drained! The "Director" wonders if Matt planned the whole thing so we would end up too drained to do anymore work! (Just kidding, Matty.)
Well, we get all cleaned up and map out what we're going to do next. The "Director" heads back to the kitchen to finish the cabinets and Matt heads to the bathroom to start cleaning there. The shower has seen a lot of use, believe me, and needed a lot of elbow grease used on it. Plus, there's the sink, the medicine cabinet, the mirror, the space under the sink and the tile floor.
The "Director" finishes with the kitchen cabinets and calls down the hall to Matt to see how he's doing. No answer. The "Director" calls again, this time a little louder. No answer. The "Director" heads down the hall to the bathroom and the door is closed. Okay. Probably just "taking care of business" or something. The "Director" returns to cleaning and organizing the closets.
After about half an hour, the "Director" goes back down the hall to see if Matt needs any help. The door is still closed and no sound is coming through the door, like the sound of scrubbing, water running, etc. The "Director" knocks and all of a sudden there's the sound of water running and what sounds like scrubbing. All quite in there one minute. All busy sounds the next minute.
Matt opens the door just a crack and smiles.
"Director:" Need any help?
Matt: Nope. I'm fine.
"Director:" Got all the supplies you need?
Matt: Yep.
"Director:" Well. Okay.
Matt: Okay.
"Director:" Can I come in?
Matt: Well... You need to use the bathroom?
"Director:" No.
Matt: Okay. I'll be finished in a few minutes.
"Director:" Okay. Call if you need any help.
Matt: Okay.
The door closes and the "Director" hears water running and all kinds of busy activity. A short while later, Matt comes out and finds the "Director" organizing the closet in the bedroom. He says something like, "Well, uh, can I just say I'm really hating cleaning the bathroom? Could we maybe switch or something?" Matty then "confesses" to being bored in there and was on his laptop checking email and chatting up a few friends.
The "Director" says, "Sure. No problem. What had you rather be doing?" Well, Matt smiles and says, "Can we take another break and talk about it?" Big grin on Matt's face and the "Director" knows exactly what kind of "talking" he has in mind. So, we take a break and it dawns on the "Director" that being inside on a nice day is the last thing on Matt's mind.
Before this "relaxing break" turns into another episode where our clothes find their way off our bodies and we end up even more drained that before, the "Director" says, "Hey, it's a really nice day outside. Do you want to rake leaves and maybe trim the hedges?" Without missing a beat, Matt says, "Yeah. Sure. I'd love to do that!" The "Director" breaks out in a huge grin and this grin is returned by Matt and he's got this major happy look breaking out on his face.
"You hate working inside, don't you?" the "Director" asks.
"Oh, God, yes. You're not mad or anything, are you?"
The "Director" then makes the moves on Matt before anything else is said. Before either of us knows what's happening, we look down and notice there's all these clothes on the floor. Since we don't have any choice at that point, we just grin at each other, shrug our shoulders and go at it again.
Afterwards, Matt finds the rake and happily heads to the front yard. The "Director" watches him from the window and sees one happy guy working furiously on getting those leaves into piles. And what's this? That guy in the front yard looks like he's totally in his element. He only stops for a few minutes to talk to the next-door-neighbor, then he's back at work. So, we now have the best looking yard in the neighborhood!
Matt comes inside and asks the "Director" to come look. Matt puts his arms around the "Director's" shoulders, beaming, and says, "Whatddya think?" The "Director" smiles and says, "I think we might get 'Yard of the Month'." Matt says, "Think so, huh?" and gives the "Director" a kiss on the cheek. The "Director" says, "Hey. I think it's time for another 'break'."
Matt and the "Director" head inside for Break Number Three. Yeah, I think we've now found our groove.
Later that night, Matt says, "I think I'm gonna promote the 'Director of House Management' to 'House Dom.' The "Director" is going, "Huh?" Matt just smiles and says, "You were so patient with me today and I appreciate that. When it comes to doing stuff I hate doing, though, I think I might need a Dom to move me along." Big, big evil grin on Matt's face.
So there you have it. The little story of how Brad, the "Director of House Management" got promoted to "House Dom." Oh, boy. Now I gotta go reading up on that job description! Somehow I think Matt has more in mind that just a playful title and a request for a little more assertiveness from me.
Guess we have some more talking to do. You know, just to clarify matters. Isn't that what you're suppose to do in a loving relationship? Talk. Communicate. Clarify. Make your lover happy? So, we'll see where this goes.
In the meantime, we're aiming for "Yard of the Month," thanks to Matt. And "House of the Month," thanks to the "Direc....", ummmm, I mean, "House Dom!" This oughta be interesting and fun. Stay tuned.
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