I woke early this morning; nearly two hours before any other human in the house. I have a very busy day today and needed to get a jump start, but before I could settle in and start to work, I had to declutter my surroundings.

Laundry was thrown into the washer, random papers were removed from the kitchen counter, toys were stored in their rightful place instead of strewn across the coffee table, coats were hung, and headphones were stored. Next, I cut some coupons, filed my son’s progress reports and watered the plants.

If I could run the sweeper without waking anyone, I’d do that too.

It’s not because I work from home, because I felt the same way when I had an office. And, even when I was an Operations Manager for a company that was bursting at the seams with business and whose staff had grown so quickly we didn’t have anywhere to put them; I had to make a desk out of a fax station that gave me just enough room to open a file folder. It looked like chaos, well…it was chaos, but I made it work because there was order.

Working from home makes it more difficult, because I have desk space and family space, but it’s nothing that can’t be solved with a little early rising. Now, and only now, can I start my work.

Right after I empty the bathroom trash cans.

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I woke up early this morning and thought (because it’s all-consuming right now) about this move to a new home. This time it wasn’t the sentimentality that hit me – I’ve come to terms with the fact that we’re leaving our house of 17 years and it doesn’t matter where we are, as long as we are together we will make it a home. That’s sappier than a pine tree, but true.

And, it wasn’t about the work going on in the house – we’ve finished tearing out carpet, landscaping, a good friend installed a new shower, the painters are almost finished, new floors will be down by the end of the week – I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

It was about karma and how, as Justin Timberlake so eloquently says, “What goes around comes back around.” I love it when he gets philosophical.

I’d like to say that when I was young I was the picture of manners and kindness, but as kids can be, I was occasionally mean. I didn’t say things to anyone’s face, but I did make fun of a few peers behind their backs. I still feel guilty about it 30+ years later. Kids, what you say to other people affects YOU, too. I was a jerk so you don’t have to be.

One of the fellow students I used to talk about was a boy who sat across from me in 7th grade art class. I made fun of him because he growled at me. Now, I have a son who growls, barks, chirps, flaps, and sometimes exhales so loudly that it sounds like there couldn’t be ONE BIT of air remaining in his lungs. That right there? Karma.

Then in high school, I gossiped about a girl who I thought was overly dramatic. I am now a blogger, so I’m pretty sure that covers the karma department, but last night my husband and I made a very overpriced offer on her current home. When I wrong someone, I pay them back in the 10s of thousands.

So, this morning as I thought of how things feel right and are falling into place because they are supposed to, I heard my husband yelling from the hall bath. I ran in to find one of the kids had clogged the toilet during the night and it was overflowing. There was an inch of water on the bathroom floor and I suddenly heard a familiar dripping sound in the kitchen downstairs.

I ran down to find water pouring through the FRESHLY PRIMED AND PAINTED kitchen ceiling. Never mind the soaking wet counter, cabinets, floor, appliances and cell phone, but the ceiling! I never did anything bad to someone’s kitchen ceiling! What kind of fresh karma is this?

Now that things are cleaned up and I’m bracing myself for the painter’s reaction, I’m wondering what will be coming back to me for the filthy cuss words that were flying from my mouth when I looked up and saw that ceiling. Because suddenly I’m thinking that a bird pooping squarely on my tongue is not going to be out of the question.

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Four years ago I found Santa marking himself down on his own naughty list. Remember?

Santa has a thing for redheads.

This morning I found the dog’s snowman laying on the floor like this:

At this rate, I’m thinking I should just put Rudolph in the front window and let the red light shine.

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It’s time for everyone’s favorite game! What’s on Momo’s Dining Room Table?

Let’s inventory, shall we? I’m not even going to count the empty stand for the electronic keyboard in the background. Because who doesn’t have an empty stand for an electronic keyboard in their dining room?

1. Folded sheets, towels, blankets and bathmats that have been there for two weeks

2. My daughter’s laundry that she needs to put away

3. Styrofoam cups

4. Granola bars

5. A desk calendar

6. Napkins

7. Paper plates

8. A Leap Frog game I’ve been meaning to take to Goodwill (Also for Goodwill, there is an air purifier under the window and two bags of clothing, a jewelry box, and a plastic horse on the back porch.)

9. A Halloween stamp

10. Two Halloween puzzles

11. A pair of scissors

Hopefully, we didn’t miss any appointments that were on that calendar, but it’s good to know that in an emergency eating situation, we’re all set.

Since it’s in the same room we shouldn’t overlook the buffet, which contains:

1. A pair of unhemmed pants

2. A hat that my sister brought back from Turkey

3. One pirate eye patch

4. A Jason mask

It’s a shame whomever wears that mask at the dinner table won’t be able to actually consume anything off our lovely dinnerware. Maybe if I look under the sheets, I’ll find some straws for him.

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