Three Bags Full

Dearest Rachel –

So, as you know, this morning is garbage day, and we had a lot to roll out last night. Between Ellen dropping off her recyclables last week and nearly a month’s worth of trash bags that Kris had put together and set in the garage (where I promptly and consistently forgot about them from one Monday evening to the next for several weeks), there was more to take out this week than there has been since Jan was here, insisting that I really clean up around here.

One unexpected contributor to this week’s pile was the fact that Logan decided to clean his room over the past couple of days. I can’t speak for you, honey, but I’m not used to that kind of behavior from Daniel. Then again, it isn’t as if he uses his room for anything more than clothes storage, so perhaps that adds up.

But what really astounded me was not just that he cleaned up the room of his own volition, without any prompting (as if I’d give him any), but the results of his efforts:

Three bags full of trash. Honestly, that’s the most confounding thing about this. He’s only been here for five months, and (the family room and kitchen aside, since those are effectively common rooms, and wouldn’t make up any part of his own garbage) he only occupies the one room in the house. How the heck did he build up all this in just that amount of time?

Of course, it’s a mystery that I’m not about to solve, or try to. For one, the garbage truck is on its way; I’m not about to keep any of this around to satisfy my idle curiosity. For another, that idle curiosity doesn’t need to be satisfied. It’s absolutely none of my business how so much accumulated in so short a time, even less so than certain questions we had back in the day when we wondered about Daniel and his extended bathtimes. At least in that case, we were wondering about our own son; Logan is neither my responsibility nor my business.

Still, it’s a curious thing, to say the least. I commend him for taking the initiative, and doing such a thorough job – I’m sure Jan would approve – but I can’t help but wonder, just a little, about how all this built up so fast.

Anyway, they’re here, and once those bags are gone, I’m sure to forget about this. But I just thought I’d let you know about this little thing that I’ve been wondering about ever since he put those things out on the landing the other day. Feel free to let me know what you think; if nothing else, I’d love to hear from you again, even on such a trivial topic.

Anyway, keep an eye on me today, honey, and wish me luck. I’m going to need it.