Our casual weekend suddenly ended as the moving broom flew up the stairs to the back bedroom and began sweeping toys, clothes, crafts and trash to the center of the room. Destination: the trash can. Startled children grabbed action figures, toy cars, building blocks and stuffed animals. I picked up t-shirts and socks to toss in the basket for Monday morning wash.
By the time the sweeper reached the steps, only the dirt and trash remained. The determined broom sweeps thoroughly. For sure that evening (and many others through the years) our broom has reached deep and wide in search of a cleared floor.
Recently our weekend of play ended with the sweep of the broom as it finished the dining room and kitchen floors.
Finally Mr. Clean stepped back and declared the house tidy enough. Tidy enough for what? Well irony of ironies,“Let’s make popcorn, okay?” Mr.Clean said, raising his eyebrows and flicking his fingers upward like kernels flying up from the pan. Popcorn and a house full of children do not work together to end the day with a clean floor.
The weekend popcorn habit began long before the proliferation of microwaves and boxes of microwave popcorn. The Popcorn Man proceeded to the kitchen and pulled out the largest stainless steel pot and its lid. With six or seven to feed, we never could get by with just one popper full of popcorn. He always had to make at least two full pans because we knew every kernel would disappear.
The popcorn habit began in earnest the year the oldest son joined Cub Scouts. To raise money the local group bought popcorn by the bushel then repackaged it into five pound bags for the Cub Scouts to sell. The money paid for their camping trip. We purchased enough popcorn to litter the floors every weekend of the year.
There is nothing fancy about the popcorn. Skip the butter. Shake salt liberally over it and nothing else. Recently I learned that the Weight Watchers Smart Points program assigns zero points to plain popcorn. Eat it, don’t count the calories and still lose weight. Back in those days before WW Smart Points, Mr. Popcorn asserted he had lost weight by eating plain popcorn. Maybe. At least it satisfied the need for a crunch.
Plain popcorn ended after we bought a jar of Tabasco Sauce during a vacation that included a visit where that hot sauce is made. He began experimenting with more seasonings, butter, maple syrup and salts. He spoke so enthusiastically about his experiments that one night a child decided to help. When Mr. Popcorn left the kitchen for some reason, Sonny Boy grabbed the metal can of black pepper and shook it liberally over the white popped corn. He proudly presented his variation to his dad and the rest of the family.
No one ever tried that recipe again.
Whatever the popcorn flavoring, I filles quart jars with ice water, and we had a party. Our entertainment varied. Some weekends the slide projector came out, so we could look at family pictures. Sometimes we just ate, talked or read books. Other times a board game of Monopoly or Sorry landed on the dining room table. Occasionally, Mr. Clean became Mr. Engineer, dividing up the Lego Blocks into piles on the dining room table and challenging his sons, “Let’s see what you can make from your pile. You can trade bricks.” Then he proceeded to trade for everything he needed to build another fantastic Lego vehicle.
We watched, played, built, ate our popcorn supper and went to bed. The next morning a popcorn strewn floor awaited sweeping by Mom the Monday Morning Mess Cleaner.