The Rental

When we arrived here, it was dark, and stormy night. No seriously, it was. Which is why we had pretty much no choice but to take the place as is when we got here, even though the apartment shook its fist and threatened us. Which is why I went back out into the dark and stormy to find a Walmart and get myself armed. And I came back and I looked around and I said to the apartment, "Bring it."And I spent just about the entirety of the next two days scrubbing and scouring every nook and cranny, every square inch of the walls, and the inside and outside of all the appliances and furniture. And I used up an entire bottle of febreeze. And then I threw down my yellow gloves and said, "boo-yah, apartment, it has been brought-en!"
Now, the carpet, which I believe not to have been so much as vacuumed in bout 30 years, is still a level of icky that causes me to periodically cringe throughout the day. But the rest is now quite acceptable.
Little One has tried to take things in stride. She did have a couple of rough nights there while She was forced to adjust to sharing a room with the whole family and the squeaky, creaky bed. She does miss the kickability of a tub at bath time, and She does not appreciate all this change occuring at the same time She has been forced to drink powdery white stuff instead of milk. But, to my increased cringing, She does like the wide open space to play on blankets on the floor. And She does like all the daily attention from the cast of characters, and She does like the daily outings where we stroll through grassy fields and watch turtles and goslings and the fountain in the marina.
The dogs are pretty sure that this is a doggy vacation made just for them. They get to run and play and pee all over the place, smell all kinds of new stuff every day, and when I'm not looking swim around and chase various flying creatures. Because there is no yard they have to be walked every time they need to 'go', and that suits them just fine. They like to stick their noses out the big open window and keep an eye on who comes and goes, alerting us to suspicious mini mart patrons and letting me know that J is coming as soon as they hear the prius down the street. Best of all, they can lay wherever they want, and they do not have to get their paws wiped clean every time they come inside, or to have a bath everytime they swim or roll in the mud, like at home.
Because truly, who cares? They could wallow in slime and then roll on the carpet and who would know the difference? Might as well let them live it up while they can. As for me, in this regard I am fighting all my OCD tendencies and trying hard to live by a motto first coined while bouncing through potholes and off-roading through the forrests of Maui in a mustang convertible: "eh...it's a rental."