The Unattainable "After"

"So when are you going to post a picture of new furniture?" is the question people are asking. I'm feeling a lot of pressure for the perfect "after" picture. Somehow in my mind, instead of just being "old furniture" to "new furniture", it's truly a "before" and "after" picture. The "after" picture can't be taken until everything is just right. At first I was just waiting for an opportunity to take a picture when we were all here, there were no obvious food spills or rips on anyone's clothing, and everyone's hair was semi-presentable. Then I realized everyone needs haircuts, some of us should lose a few pounds, we need new throw pillows and perhaps new valances, and certainly some more house plants. I managed to get two lovely new plants, one real, one fake. I'm sure there is a deep statement about the meaning of life, or the lack of it, in this attitude but I'm not going there. "After" is just an unattainable state in my life. One of these days I will be able to face life as it truly is at the same time that everyone is home, and the "after" picture will happen, imperfect though it will be.

But there is hope. I have been praying for a miracle, or several miracles in the life of my dearly beloved oldest son. Today I saw a glimmer. He came home to do his laundry. I left for awhile, and when I came back, he was gone. I assumed that his laundry would, as usual, still be in the washer or possibly in the dryer. It wasn't in the washer. It wasn't in the dryer. It wasn't even lying in a pile on the couch. Yes, for the first time ever, he actually completed the wash/dry/put-away cycle all within a few hours! Things are starting to happen!