Window Washing

  Windows were a priority with Mom. They had to be sparkling clean for her to be happy. It was a grueling project because our windows aren't the modern tilt-in type. They have to be taken apart, carried out into the yard, washed and then carried back in and reassembled.

 There was a time when I did this every year. I dreaded it.

 Now that Mom's gone, I still feel the annual compulsion to clean the windows (and for those of you who do yours twice a year, just go away. I don't want to hear about it).

 I decided last spring (when I was still 75) to hire the work done this year. Now that the time has come I have decided to tackle it (somewhat) again. I have come to the conclusion that I'm too old to do between the windows and that doing the insides and outsides would have to be good enough. And I wouldn't do the outside of the second floor windows at all. I just can't handle working atop a ladder any longer.

 Mom would turn over in her grave.

So on May 10 I began ...

 And on May 25 I "finished" ...

 My bedroom window is the worst of all because it is behind the bed. But when I woke this morning I decided to not make the bed so I could walk around on top of it and do my best to get the inside cleaned.

 On May 18 I crept up the stairs while Tom and Miss Parker still slept. Soon I heard the dog at the bottom of the stairs checking me out. She has to know everything that is happening. Was it really me up there or might it be someone she wasn't aware of? And could they be eating?!

 Anyway, except for the porch windows I'm done. I'll get to them soon.

 Here's how I keep track of which windows I've washed. I date the inside and outside on this sheet as I get the job completed.

 Like my window washing, it's a bit crude. But it works. And as Dad always said: "It's good enough".