The things you don’t remember

Most of the things I recalled and missed from home were the positive things but spending so much time here reminds me of the things I could do without.

Family drama is one of those definitely but it seems like that’s one no one can ever avoid so who am I to complain?

Another has to do with the cleanliness and condition of the homers of my family, especially Mom’s. My family has never been known for being clean and I think my standards have far surpassed most of theirs already, so I’m a little uncomfortable being here sometimes. In fact, I’ve done a bit of cleaning up and spent the first few days working on different projects like removing all the stickers from the entertainment center I bought Mom.

Of course, no amount of cleaning can make a home newer. Mom has lived here almost a decade and Tim has lived here some years before that. Continuous living certainly can take its toll on a building and it has in this house. It seems like every time everything breaks, the fix is only temporary and the issue will come back even worse next time, ultimately leaving the house in worse condition.

Frozen pipes seem to be an issue which occurs frequently and they’ve actually had to take the shower out to fix it and whoever reinstalled it did a sloppy job caulking the shower when they put it back in and the shower looks absolutely disgusting but seems to match the stained linoleum and loose toilet in the bathroom.

I guess I’ve just gotten used to living in nicer places and it bothers me a bit to be back. I always imagine renovating this house which is probably useless as Mom and Tim are trying to buy a new house but I know it still won’t be great and they’ll have a mortgage to pay off for the rest of their life from the loan.

Another thing I didn’t recall was just how much fur 6 animals can shed! It’s absolutely insane. I remember why I started lint brushing my clothes in the first place! Of course, 6 animals also equals scattered food, dumped over water bowls, litter box cleaning and accidents on the floors (which absolutely gross me out), all things I’d like to pass on even though I really am a pet person.

I suppose you can’t have your cake and eat it too but I certainly do miss my clean, new-ish and fur-free home in Japan.