Friday, December 03, 2010

Music to My Ears

I am a paper products girl.  

I like all things paper, napkins, baby wipes, paper towels, tissues, cleaning wipes, paper plates and, of course, toilet paper.  

I know that makes me the environment's worst enemy, but I can't help it.  I need the paper products.  I have boxes of Kleenex in every room and packets of wipes in my purse, diaper bag, backpack, etc.  And, we never have a meal without napkins, never.  Have you ever been to someone's house for dinner and there were no visible napkins?  It's very awkward, what are you supposed to do?  Use your shirt or wipe your fingers discreetly on your socks?  You see, awkward.

I'm also a bit of a Boy Scout.  Well, technically Kenny is the Eagle Scout, but my Dad is an Eagle Scout and all of my brothers are too so some of it rubbed off.
 
image from here

I am always prepared and I rarely throw anything away until I am absolutely certain I cannot use it for something.  No, I am not a hoarder, I just believe in being ready for every contingency.  This habit drives Kenny insane, but more than once I have been able to produce something from what most would call nothing and he has had to admit I'm not as crazy as I seem.

We go into crisis mode around here if the baby wipes are running low or we don't have ample kleenex and napkins at the ready.  Yes, it's weird, but everybody has their thing and this is mine, or rather one of mine, if we're being honest.

This afternoon when Isaac, my 2 year-old, was diving into his scrumptious and nutritious lunch of macaroni and cheese, hot dogs and avocado, he called out, "Mommy, I need a napkin."  Well, my heart leapt with joy.  Of course you do, I thought.  I practically ran him a napkin which he promptly snatched up and immediately put to good use.  He's my little boy, no question.  This is one idiosyncrasy I am happy to pass along.  I'll try to mitigate some of my other craziness, but a love of napkins thrills my soul.

2nd Random Act of Christmas:  When I was in the car today, I went out of my way to be courteous.  I let any car who wanted to merge in front of me or turn or slow down for no obvious reason whatsoever with no adverse reaction from me (that's a rarity indeed).  I stopped for scads of pedestrians trying to jaywalk, walk against the light or beat the traffic.  I waited for buses I would normally pass and gave myself lots of time to get anywhere to avoid driving too fast.  The result was lots of grateful waves from other drivers and many pedestrians and really good traffic and parking karma.  
I might just keep doing this random act from now on.   

5 comments:

Annemarie said...

I get it. I am the same way. We go through paper towels like there is no tomorrow. I have to say I don't feel too bad about it, either.

Megan said...

I carry napkins in my purse. They've come in handy on more than one occasion. There's Kleenex, too but the napkins... they're special. They are usually the leftover ones from a quick-serve/fast food restaurant where the stack was just a little too big when it was handed to me. And, when I was at a PTO meeting and someone spilled their Starbucks all over my planner, I didn't panic. I had my napkins.

Mary said...

I'm a bit of a "Boy Scout" myself! I found your blog from Ivy League Insecurities and looking forward to following you!

The Songer said...

Ditto on the paper products! and I love wipes.. every kind, and have them stashed everywhere.. it's just way easier then getting a sponge dirty!

Yay... Driving with aloha.. that goes along way!

Anonymous said...

One of the most mystifying things about my Neal is that I've NEVER seen him use a napkin at a meal. And it's not like he's sitting there dirty or with food on his face...somehow he manages to eat without spillage. Mystifying.

 

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