Dear FlyLady,

DS is 11, and his best friend is in his class at school and some of his taekwondo classes. They live out of district for school, so Fridays can be hectic. Mom has to drop everything at work (she’s a realtor), pick up her kid at 3, get home about 3:30, change clothes and grab a snack, and get back in the car for competition classes.

They just got back from a long vacation at 1 a.m. today, and she posted a frazzled-sounding FB message this afternoon. You know how it is: tired, coming down from a vacation high, trying to catch up at work while unpacking, doing two weeks’ laundry, etc. I was able to offer “hey, why doesn’t he come home with us tomorrow, save you the drive back and forth, and I’ll take both boys to class.” She gratefully responded because she needed to be showing a house in the afternoon and was frantically trying to figure out how to juggle everything.

Because my house is presentable, I knew I could make the offer. Out of habit, DH said “the boys won’t have any place to play in this dump.” And then we looked around. I needed to vacuum the playroom because I’m working on a Halloween costume using faux-fur material that SHEDS, sweep the kitchen floor, and unload/reload the dishwasher. WOW, that’s really awful, right? It’s not perfect. If we were throwing a party, it would need more. But for two 11-year-old boys to come play? It’s fine. For his realtor-mom (who has a professional eye for house flaws) to drop the boys off after class? Also fine. I’m not embarrassed to read between the lines that my friend needs a hand. I could easily have ignored it since she didn’t ask for help, but because the house is presentable (thanks to my routines), I could offer.

Regina