The Follow Through.

Lately I've been trying to make sure I follow through with what I'm doing. I never fully realized my overwhelming ability to leave shit half-done until I got married. Todd and I never lived together before marriage so we found ourselves amused, not annoyed, by the day to day idiosyncrasies of the other person. Todd's was hanging his towels and clothes on doors. I guess being 6'7" really opens up the possibilities of where you can hang your clothes. Mine was leaving drawers open.

You guys, I AM SO BAD ABOUT THIS. It's starting to annoy me because five years after this being pointed out to me, I am still doing it. I am a walking, talking scene right out of The Sixth Sense. It's like being haunted except I am the ghost.

Anyways, I started realizing how this one little quirk (we'll call it that to maintain its cuteness and not at all dwell on its irritating nature) sort of bleeds into the way I do tasks. The way I pick up stuff and tidy up rooms in the house is like something out of a schizophrenic's journal. I will be loading the dishwasher, remember that Todd and I had water glasses on our nightstands, and go to the bedroom to get them. Then I will see that the bedroom trash can needs emptying, there are shoes that need to be put away and a ton of Alex's books are strewn about the floor.

So I'll take care of that stuff, put it all away, grab the glasses and walk past the bathroom. Another cup! Goddammit! How do three individuals go through glassware so fast? It's like another M. Night Shyamadingdong movie, Signs, where the little girl Bo takes a few sips from a glass and requires another one. I go in, set down the bedroom glasses because the bathroom rug is crooked, the toilet paper needs replacing and guess WHAT I left my contact stuff and saline solution and glasses out from earlier that morning so let's put THAT shit away and then by the time I come back to the kitchen, I have completely forgotten that the dishwasher is wide open and anyone could have tripped over it or, sometimes, the cat will be trying to lick water droplets off of the open door.

Sometimes this lack of follow through is a direct consequence of my desire to multi-task. I have discussed this before, but I really don't like doing just one thing when I know I can be doing two. It's why I refuse to start housework until I have a load of laundry going. My GOD it gives me thrills just thinking of accomplishing two things at once. My friend Allison told me that in their new house, the old washing machine required someone to sit on it in order to run and I about died at the thought.

Yesterday I was getting a glass of water for Alex and needed to refill the Brita pitcher. So I put the water on a drizzle and handed Alex her cup. I sat with her a bit, then realized I needed to start running her bath. I returned to the sofa to watch a little Beauty and the Beast with her. After a bit she gets up and runs around and so I get up to check out what she's doing and HOLY SHIT the tub is full. I turn off the water and we go back to get her Aurora barbie so Alex can bring her in the tub. Luckily Aurora was on the sofa and I could hear water running. That's weird, I thought. I just turned off the tub. Then I looked into the kitchen and saw the water overflowing out of the Brita pitcher. Way to save water, desert rat! Idiot.

Aside from wasting water, sometimes I kind of like how I go through things. It's fluid. It follows one thing on a path, of sorts, like a river, picking up other things in its current as it goes. And eventually I wind up where I started to finish it off. But at the same time, if I just do a job, like, load the present-and-accounted-for dishes first, finish cleaning the kitchen, and THEN move on, then there is a satisfying conclusion instantly.

Hell, if I can just successfully close drawers before leaving a room, I'll consider it an accomplishment.