Doors and Windows - An Inspirational Post

They say that whenever a door closes, a window opens - or at least Julie Andrews did, in The Sound of Music.  (Or maybe it's the window that closes, and the door that opens).  In any case, in my house, NONE of the windows closes completely, thus our very high energy bills in the winter. 

At least that's what my very supportive friends told me when I lost my job last spring.  And, indeed, this year has been one of discovery and marvel and wonder.  I've tried a  number of new ventures (which I won't reveal here, lest you copy and do them better than me) and have gained self-assurance, confidence, and about five pounds.  A sabbatical, either forced or not, is supposed to be personally expanding, a time for reflection and taking the sorts of risks that one normally wouldn't in our mundane day to day existences.

I took a significant risk this afternoon, when, in preparation for company that's a comin' on Saturday night, I cleaned the downstairs powder room and threw into the washer a rug that I've heretofore only vacuumed.  I knew that there could be only two possible outcomes  1) the rug would come out clean  or   2)  the rug would fall apart completely, the little pieces would get stuck in the little metal holes that line the drum of the washer and I would need to explain to DH why we needed a new washer and a new throw rug in addition to the dishwasher, automatic garage door opener, oven and clock radio that are already malfunctioning.

But it was okay.

Here's an "after" picture of the rug.  Note how clean and cat hair-free it is. 

As Robert F. Kennedy said, "Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly."  As I stood here today with my laundry basket, I could swear he was speaking directly to me and my Tide Original formula, with Acti-Lift technology.