Friday, May 20, 2011

Mud Room




Yes, it's true. It's Connecticut after all. Everyone has a "mud room" at the back door. Well, almost everyone. We have the back door. Oh wait...sometimes the front door. There are mud rooms that are as formal as the Oval Office and there are mud rooms as basic as hooks and a bench with everything in between. I'm not sure when the mud room came into existence…it is definitely a New England thing…certainly now that our living is just a bit  more rural than suburban. Now we have dirt, boots, sand, sneakers, dirt, hiking shoes,  sand, sandals and shoes….and paws! Lots of paws…with dogs who could use their own mud room. For the dogs, we have the ever coveted Billy Maes ShamWow as seen on TV! Don't laugh! It works! I'm a real live testimonial!




Growing up in my lovely suburban bedroom community, we didn't have mudrooms...we kept our shoes on. There was a mat to wipe our feet, even in our upscale community...just a mat. Kids just kept their shoes on....unless a mom was the type that didn't want the kids in the living room. The front door was a clue, an unwritten kid code that signaled the type of house we were entering.





As we walked in the door, instantly we could sense the atmosphere. Shoes...on or off. Check. Everything perfectly in place with no sign of life. Check. Volume in the house. Check. Some houses were ultra quiet, uncomfortably quiet. Check. Whoop! Whoop! Playdar! Our playdar went off! This is a show house....this house is fun! The mom has lots of rules. Check. Playdar let us know how to behave. Tiptoe shoes off house or skip shoes on house? By the way, the skipping, shoes on house had better snacks too!



Houses are different. Families are different. Energy kicks in right at the door...or mudroom. Just wondering, is Martha Stewart reponsible for the mudroom? What kind of energy does your home have? Really, all that matters to me...to make everyone welcome.

I try not to send the signal that I'm one of "those" moms. I don't want to be THAT mom, as Grace and T.J. say. Funny but I'm not thinking I stand a chance to be THAT mom. Byt thte way, THAT mom might run right out of our house without a specific place to keep her shoes….and we don't often wear slippers…we're not THAT family either! Don't get me started. Not that there's anything wrong with that.







2 comments:

Lily said...

hi, first time visiting ur blog, and fell in love with it straight away.

mudroom

Liz said...

Lily, Thank you for your kind words! I've been writing and creating on another blog....its 4 years later that I see your message but I'm grateful. Thanks so much! -liz