Premeditated Housekeeping?

The only person I know who hates attention more than I do is my dear friend Lesley... So this goes out to her for the worst case of Premeditated Housekeeping I have ever been witness to.

To start off, I met Lesley through e-mail before she, her husband, and two darling children moved to Fort Worth from Johannesburg, South Africa. I had no idea what a darling friend I would make and I consider myself very fortunate to have her and her family become such and important part of my life.

While we were out of town at "The Reunion" Lesley was kind enough to watch the animals and the mail while we were gone. Lesley never fails to help us out with the animals and the mail - no small chore considering the amount of pets we have and the kind of mail we get (who wants important mail to Chris from the President of the United States sitting in their mailbox for days - see "Wilson's House Guest" if you're confused...).

The last couple of days before we left I really let the housework go. I mean GO. My mother would be embarrassed if she knew what it looked like before we left. Typically our house is clean, but we were running late for our trip, it was too hot, I'm pregnant, and I figured Lesley is the kind of friend I'm comfortable with to the point where I don't scramble to clean for her. Those, by the way, are the best kind of friends, ones you don't clean for because that means they are truly loved and truly your friends.

So we came home Sunday. I know about Santa. I know about the Tooth Fairy. I was not acquainted with the Amazing South African Pet Sitter. Not only does this person of myth, "ASAPS" actually exist, but she does way more than watch your pets and bring in your mail. The laundry was done - cleaned and folded. The living room was clean. The kitchen, which on Friday looked like it was the scene of a COPS raid, had a clean sink, clean counters, clean dished, and had a wonderful, clean, antiseptic smell.

We thanked Lesley for all of her hard work and for her love. I thought we had seen all of "ASAPS"'s handiwork. And then, this afternoon I saw it. My stove.

Those metal things under your burners on the stove - mine, which had been blackened and nasty, despite my best scrubbing and soaking efforts, were POLISHED. I could see my baffled expression reflected back at me. I called Chris in to show him. Chris shook his head in disbelief and said "This was premeditated housekeeping. She didn't just straighten up incidentally, she premeditated cleanliness here."

To my darling friend - I don't know how you did it, and I'm not sure why you did it, but I do know I can never repay the kindness you've shown to us - and to our stove. And you can never, ever move back to South Africa until you show me how you make burner pans look like chrome...