Housefly, Go Home
Arnold Lobol writes a cautionary tale about a housefly who one day wakes up to see all the dirt in his house. He diligently begins sweeping. When he pushes the pile over the threshold, he notices the dirt on his front path, and then on the road. He’s a good way down the road when Grasshopper comes along and inquires what he’s doing. Poor Housefly; he’s taken on cleaning up the world. I am that housefly. Not that I’m a compulsive cleaner—far from it. But I can’t look around me without seeing what needs to be done. A moment spent admiring the (glorious) flower garden with Gwyn turns into a to-do list: weeding, transplanting, pruning, seeding. Cleaning the kitchen after dinner, I’m acutely aware of all I’m not cleaning: the grease on the kettle, the spills in the refrigerator. Clearing out my email, I berate myself for not writing to…