I love it when someone new comes over to my house and notices something that I’ve never seen before. I can’t think of an example right now…don’t know if that’s because I don’t have that many guests or if it’s because I live simply and there’s not much to take in. Anyway, you get what I mean. It’s easy to overlook things in your own home.
I wonder if we’re trained or predispositioned to notice certain nuances. Like OCD people will notice dirt more…prude people will notice vibrators more (ah, hahaha, I didn’t even notice that huge dildo next to your bed!). You can tell a lot about a person based on how he/she lives, so if you’re just getting to know someone, you are more educated in what you’re getting yourself into. If it’s the first time over at a new potential partner’s house and there are banana peels under the pillow…maybe he’s not as cute as you originally thought.
How hot do you have to be to have banana peels under your pillow and still be desirable?
I think another aspect to not noticing a blaring atrocity in your own house is that that’s your home. It’s a sign that you’re comfortable in your own home. If you keep inspecting every nook and cranny, you probably don’t feel at ease for some reason. That’s the one thing I love about visiting older people’s homes…you open a cupboard and they’re like, “Oh my god! You found my Teddy Ruxpin!!! I’ve not seen him for years!!!”
I guess it could also be that each person has a certain routine. Maybe your routine doesn’t frequent the cupboard where your Teddy Ruxpin has lived in isolation since 1986…sort of the Nelson Mandela of your childhood toys. Or you didn’t notice it behind the Christmas decorations because they only come out if you host Christmas…something I’m not mentally or physically capable of for at least another 15 years.
Noticing new things or lost items is also the fun part of moving out! Cleaning out all your stuff and realizing that you’re WAY more of a hoarder than you originally thought. Finding that photograph you were SURE you’d destroyed ages ago…why did people let me wear my hair like that?!?!
I won’t show a picture, but I did use to wear my hair so it looked like a mullet. A faux mullet…it was on my Tinder profile.
Anyway…hopefully I see something new today…perhaps I’ll find a hidden gem!
Suzanne Lea Shepherd 