The Pile

Gel nail disaster (featuring my son's thumb)

I had a steady babysitting job at the age of 11.  That's right: ELEVEN.  I sat for two adorable little ones, and I charged $1 per hour.  We played 'guess what flavor the m&m is' and watched cartoons and ransacked the basement.  And when they went to bed, I would tackle The Pile.  Next to the phone in the kitchen was a disorganized heap of papers and miscellaneous stuff.  Every Saturday night for months I would sort and stack them into neat piles.  At least I did until I got feedback from the three year old: "Mommy doesn't want you to straighten her papers any more."

I have my own pile now.  Actually, I have a lot of piles.  And lists.  And on the weekend, I tackle them.  Sometimes I tackle a list.  Sometimes I tackle a pile.  More often than not, the pile is part of the list, and the list is part of the pile.

I've found that the amount of piles and lists I have directly correlates to the state of my grooming.  I don't mind being busy, or feeling busy, but I sure do hate looking busy.  Because while a pile can wait, eyebrows, or, say, grey roots, are less understanding.  Once upon a time, Scarlett O'Hara's hands gave her away.   I guess mine do too.  After a seven week period which encompassed full-time work, a two week visit from my sister-in-law, a Gala for CASA's 25th Anniversary, two extended power outages, a spouse away for weeks on business, Halloween,Thanksgiving and then Christmas decorating - the house was awash in piles.  And I walked around with this trashy half on-half off gel manicure for at least two weeks (the first three weeks they looked great!).  

This weekend I reclaimed both my house and my hands and am left only with my list. But I crossed off The Piles, The Nails, and now I can cross off The Blog Post.  

What piles up for you during busy periods?  And more importantly, how do you hide it?