At My Momma’s House

At my Momma’s house this week, the dog decided he wanted to ruin our lives.

In a week where we had simultaneously run out of trash bags and had craft time, Ryker (said dog) decided he wanted to repeatedly empty the trash.

He just didn’t think it belonged there. It needed to be parsed about the house, each room with some to share. So we (the kids) devised a plan: keep the door closed. If he can’t get in, he can’t make a mess. Easy.

Except we forgot. Often.

And every couple days we were back on our knees cleaning up the mess he had made.

This next part is embarrassing, but important.

My mom sat listening to us complain about this all week. The issue wasn’t in her bedroom or bathroom, so I assume she just watched us go through this cycle all week. Until one day she went upstairs for something. The dog followed her and I yelled up in a panicked tone, “He’s coming!”

But you see, she’s smarter than all of us. She didn’t respond. Didn’t send him down. And I eventually forgot they were up there. Until the next morning I went to assess the damage.

She had moved the trash can on top of the toilet to where he couldn’t reach it. Until we bought trash bags, she just moved it.

She didn’t have to remember anything. She didn’t have to scold him repeatedly (while training is obviously not a bad thing). But she just moved it.

And that’s when I realized we’ve been trying to train people in our lives not to make a mess, when really we just need to move the trash can.

Instead of yelling, instead of trying to remember to keep control of them, and instead of finding ourselves cleaning up a mess over and over, there’s another way.

We’ve been trying to train people in our lives not to make a mess, when really we just need to move the trash can.

I'm not saying don't call people up. But sometimes your energy is better spent elsewhere. Sometimes moving the trash can gives you more time where you need to build. Give people what they can handle, and don’t get angry at them when you give them too much.

It’s not an idealistic fix, but it’s the difference between someone who’s learned to manage her own expectations and her kids who still think they can tell the dog what to do.

And in learning this, she gets to keep her hands out of the trash and she still loves her dog. Teach us more Momma. Teach us more.