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Brentwood Press - OakleyPress_05.02.08 - Index

MAY 2, 2008 COMMUNITY THEPRESS.NET | 7A
Not-so-easy steps
to a cleaner house
I grew up a stepchild and now I
have two of my own. Not in the typical
blended-family/your-mother-marriedmy-father
sort of way; more along the
lines of all-this-crap-piled-on-these-stepsneeds-to-go-up
manner of thinking.
CRAZY LITTLE
THING CALLED
LIFE
CAROLYN
DODDS
I fi rst became a
stepchild in the fall of
1979 when we moved
from a ranch-style
house (circa early
1960s) in San Bruno
into a split-level in the
suburbs of Pleasanton.
It was then
that my mother said
pointedly to my older
sister, “This fi rst step
belongs to you,” and
then to me, “And this
second one belongs to you. That makes
you my stepchild number one and stepchild
number two. You girls are responsible
for anything placed on your step and
all of it must be carried up and put in its
proper place at the end of each day.”
Back then, this made perfect sense.
All of my friends’ parents were still
married and I had no understanding of
the term stepchild for any other reason.
In fact, my strawberry hair deemed me
the nickname The Redheaded Stepchild
long before I heard it used in any other
context. And would our crap ever pile
up: laundry, books, school bags, shoes.
We constantly were stepping over and
around our belongings on our way up
and down those stairs.
“Stepchildren!” my mom would yell
in the late afternoon. “Get your stuff!”
“Stepchildren!” my mom would yell
in the early evening. “Clear the stairs!”
“Stepchildren!” my mom would yell
at bedtime. “If I have to move any of
this myself, I’m moving it straight to the
trash!”
That last one would get us stomping
down to retrieve our loot and pounding
each stair with exaggerated force on the
way back up.
“Do you realize,” I asked my sister,
“that if we had a one-story, Mom would
have no place to put our stuff except in
our rooms? She’s taking full advantage
of us.”
But now, being a mom myself, as
well as a homeowner of a split-level, I
pile things at the bottom of the stairs
with the expectation that someone will
carry it all up. Someone being Josh, of
course. I try to sort it all out for him,
make his job easier. His stuff on the fi rst
step, Ben’s on the second, mine on the
third. It’s all a matter of organization,
really.
But he’s not buying it. He protests,
huffs, growls, and carries up the items
with a steady stream of complaints
strewn from his mouth as he goes. He too
stomps his feet. He too feels the unjustness
of the situation. Normally, I fi nd everyone’s
belongings in the correct room,
but his defi ance is illustrated in where he
places it all: on the fl oor. In a heap.
However, Josh is more savvy to
blended families and actual stepchildren
than I was at his age, so I hesitate calling
him my stepchild out loud. For now, I
just call him Josh and ask him to continue
being helpful.
To comment on this column, visit
www.thepress.net.
There was a controversy recently over
some comments made by one of the presidential
candidates that could be construed
as looking down their nose at certain segments
of the population. I’ll let the news
pundits discuss whether the comments
reflect that candidate’s true views. But it
got me to thinking about how renters are
viewed around here.
I was on the receiving end of a
very passionate conversation lately with
someone who chooses to rent for various
reasons, but feels reluctant to reveal
that fact to others. Her children have even
had to endure some teasing from friends
when they find out. I also talk to many,
many homeowners who are about to lose
their home, and one of their most urgent
concerns is to find out how soon they can
buy another home. When I lay out a plan
for them to spend a few years renting to
rebuild their credit and save up for a downpayment,
I can tell you that I have yet to see
RENTERS ARE PEOPLE, TOO…
a smile come across their faces at the idea
of renting.
Of course I understand the American
dream of owning a home, and all the financial
and emotional benefits to that. I believe
in, and encourage, homeownership where
appropriate and fiscally responsible for
the buyer. But I am going to venture that
another large driver behind the desire for
homeownership is that many people view
renters as second-class citizens around here.
So if buying a home is a wise decision
for you, please do it. But if not, please don’t
think you are worth any less as a person
because you are renting. And even more
importantly than that, please don’t look
down on someone else in that situation.
If you have questions on this or any
other real estate topic, call me at (925) 240-
MOVE (6683). To search the MLS for free
and view virtual tours of homes for sale, go
to: www.SharpHomesOnline.com. Sharp
Realty
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