I have said on more than on occasion that I need a hamper that looks like the floor, that way my family would use it.

I finally conquered my own personal Everest, the laundry. This allowed me to return the hampers to their proper positions, one of which is in the upstairs bathroom. And by return I mean put there for the first time since we moved. Hey, progress is a slow machine.

This disturbed Mac greatly. As we awaited the right time to buy our house, the kids kept their clothes in storage bins. Mac rejoiced greatly in his newly acquired dresser and was not interested returning to the chaotic ways of old. He looked askance at the hamper and asked me "Why is that there?"

"To put your clothes in."

"I don't want to do that."

"Well, I don't want to pick them up off the floor."

"Well I put my clothes where them belong. So I won't use that."

"You just need to put your dirty clothes in here."

"But I don't want to." At this point, the boy actually started to tear up. Over a hamper. A plastic one at that, hey the father figure bought it not me.

"What do you think happens with a hamper?" At this point I was genuinely befuddled. It's not like he hadn't ever seen one before, although there wasn't much actual proof he had used one. He knew that he was supposed to put his dirty clothes in it. He had when it was in the laundry room. So, befuddlement was really the only thing to describe my state at the moment.

"I don't know but I don't want to use it."

Hey get in line there kiddo. "All I want you to do is put your dirty clothes in it so that I can take them downstairs and wash them. That's all. They'll come back to you. Clean. And that way I don't have to pick up dirty clothes off the floor." For the record, I was standing on dirty Hulk underpants.

"But I don't leave my clothes on the floor." Yeah, because X-Man wears underwear. "I put them back where they belong. Where I found them."

"No, I'm talking about the clothes you just wore. Not the ones I folded and told you to put away."

"Yeah. I put them all in my drawers."

"Wait. You put your  dirty clothes in your drawers, with your clean clothes?"


"Yeah, back where I found them. Like you tell me to."

Oh sure, this is the ONE time you bother to do what I say. It actually does explain why I kept finding dirty clothes in his drawers. I figured it was a sloppy clean up job, but no it was very intentional. And well intentioned at that.

"Ok. Yeah. We don't put dirty clothes in our drawers. We put them in the hamper. So they get cleaned. That way mommy doesn't tell you to change your shirt three times because it's always dirty. Does that make sense?"

"No, not really."

And that, ladies and gentlemen is Monday.