garage

copyright Grace Albaugh


I was cleaning in the garage yesterday and, as always, was amazed at the amount of stuff and filth that had ac culminated. I sorted through things I haven't seen in years and other things I didn't even know we had. I threw a lot of things out that I'm crossing my fingers my husband won't notice and things I have not noticed in years either. There were car parts that were so old and dried out they fell apart. Garden pots that were cracked. I even found three bike helmets I wish I would have known about before I bought a new one just last year. I bought it to go with my bike that is still sitting in the garage never ridden this year. (see previous post)
When daddy was alive we had garage spring cleaning outside just as we had house spring cleaning inside. He had a method and the entire family participated. First Bill, Anne and I would start by emptying all of the small items from their fallen places and put them in whatever pile daddy dictated. As we were getting the small things, he and mother got the big things. Daddy was a very organized man so things moved along a a good clip.
It never took long before Bill started up with his shenanigans though. He was a master of bothering Anne and I in this stealth kind of way. Whispering something in our ear that annoyed us while passing us from behind. Poking me with the end of his ice fishing spear. Putting the thunder mug on his head and making a terrible face. (The thunder mug is a porcelain covered metal pot with a lid that was made to be a portable toilet for camping.) He did all of these things so quickly that mother and daddy never saw him, but they knew he was up to something by the response it got from Anne and I. We were either in tears or laughing ourselves silly by the time we were half way through our tasks. It would be at about this time that daddy had just about enough. We all got yelled at. Bill for being a nuisance and Anne and I for being so loud. After a stern talking to and a few threats of one thing or another, we got back to work until Bill got bored and started things all over again.
By the end of things, Bill got sent to his room and Anne and I had to finish the sweeping and loading of items back into the garage. Bill didn't care because it meant he didn't have to work any more and we got so mad that we were left to finish up, we swore we would get Bill back. Back with what we didn't know but we would think of something. We rarely did. And we always swore that next year, no matter what he did, we would just ignore him. Make him stick it out to the end with the rest of us. We never did. We couldn't control it no matter how hard we tried. We were hopeless and Bill was the master. It was his calling to be the very best at making our lives miserable with all kinds of nonsense. But it was all in good fun and I love him to this day. He still makes faces behind every ones back and I still crack up until can't stand it anymore. I hope this part of my life never changes and I'm pretty confident it won't.