Ms. SWAN AND THE DIRTY CLOTHES

Yesterday I started a re-organization process of the garage. I’ve decided that it might just be a good idea to rent a storage facility. I think this would force Chris to actually sort through his crap and decide on what he’s keeping and what needs to be donated/trashed. Chris’s mom came out to the garage to “help”. She stood there for a while and then said “I just don’t know where to start”. I told her to start with the laundry area and asked her where she puts her dirty clothes. This was a trick question. See, I already had some idea of what happens to her dirty clothes. I just wanted to see her take on it. She got this totally confused look on her face and she cocked her head to the side and said “dirty clothes?”

Yeah, I knew she didn’t have a designated place for dirty clothes. Clothes get left in little piles here and there. Often she just tosses dirty laundry out into the garage like she setting an animal free in the wild. Her laundry baskets are a mix of dirty, clean, and hangers. The same three t-shirts have been sitting on top of the drier for over a month, neatly folded, covered in dust and cobwebs. As I stood there watching her struggle with the concept of a dirty clothes basket I had an intense moment of clarity.

All of Chris’s habits make perfect sense. I understand why he leaves his socks on the living room floor or his dirty clothes on the bathroom floor. It’s because he didn’t have a “wire-hanger” mother and actually, Chris is way better then his mom. When Chris showed up that evening, I told him all of this. He said “See! It’s not my fault!”. I know it’s not his fault and I know he tries. I love that he tries, but most of all I love that he recognizes that putting clothes in the dirty clothes hamper is the right thing to do.