all men on 42 main

Here at the Nordberg household the absence of the matriarch is really being felt by all of the inhabitants. All of the rooms are filled with dirty clothes, draped over chairs, dangling from dresser draws, and piling high to obscure the floor. I know some of the men made a special trip up to the mall to purchase some socks and boxers to sustain themselves for another week. I just want to warn the reader at this point...some of the details and imagery to follow may not be suitable for those that pride themselves on keeping an orderly household. The shock and disbelief of the disparaging conditions created by an all male household may bring you to a dark place that you have never been to, nor ever imagined you would go. So please...continue at your own risk, for some of these things will make you question everything you were raised to believe. Your fragile and naive mindset may be destroyed...reduced to confusing pieces of what you once regarded as the home. Apart from the worn clothes strewn around the house, there is also the situation in the kitchen. At this point, all of the plates, cups, glasses, and bowls have been used. The china cabinet has been raided and of the contents exhausted. Every substitute for a plate has been exploited...be it a saucer plate, frying pan, skillet, butter tray, tupper ware, or serving platter. The other morning I used my mother's mixing bowl to eat my cereal. At the point when we were drinking out of vases and eating cereal out of old coffee cans, we all looked at each other and commented that this was unacceptable. When we held a meeting to discuss some solutions to our problems, an anonymous vote went up that we go to BJs and purchase plates and cups...the bare essentials to get us through a couple more days. Now, we are nearing the end of that reserve and are completely at a lose as to what the next step should be. The food condition is no better. After all of the left overs had been eaten, we turned our attention to the cookies and ice cream that remained from the holiday season. Cereal was our main staple, but we had to start eating it with water. Now that the main rations have been used up, we are getting pretty creative. This morning I had some almond chips complemented with some peanut butter. I think that tonight I may finish off the ketchup, mustard, and chocolate sauce as a combination on the last of the bread. As you can see, conditions here are pretty dim. Though some of the men's spirits are still pretty high, I know that we are approaching a desperate time. Daily we longingly gaze out of the window for the return of Mother...for only she can save the family from the certain havoc that will soon take over.