It's the Little [Annoying] Things

The other day we were all puttering around the kitchen area with bits and pieces of conversation filling the gaps of a quiet evening. I said to Sean, "I wonder what other things you do that are endearingly annoying?"   and we had a good laugh.  Here are three of them that have come up several times lately:

1. Sean puts things away no matter what.  And since we don't have a rigid system of where things go, at least for now (maybe ever), you'll never ever know where they ended up. If he died today, all would be lost. Now, cleaning up clutter can make a lot of sense, so I'm told, but it's not like Julian and I are always leaving our crap around and that Sean haaates it.  I really don't think he does. If I were a hoarder, then maybe. But i would never be because i love throwing things away too much. So I think, for him, It's just a reflex of his to pick a thing up and find a spot for it.  Some people are busy bodies; He's a busy handy. (and body) This morning I ran in from driving Julian to school, having had to double back to the house and yelled, "where's Pandy?? PANDY!!"   and sure enough Sean had put Julian's pillow panda away even though we'd specifically gotten it out and ready so we wouldn't forget to take it to school for the special reading day (and had discussed doing so in Sean's presence). This is not a big deal. But it does happen a lot. A lot.

2. Sean is a very sharing, caring person. He will do so much for me, I couldn't even keep track of all the things if I tried. Too many to count.  And this includes sharing food we both love. For some reason we have a mental discrepancy about food sharing. Some people, myself included, believe that if you're going to share food with someone, you both get to eat some of it at your leisure. If you have some and share with your friend, you still get to have some again. NOT the case with Sean. He is happy to share. HOWEVER.  I have come to learn that if we're sharing food, once I let it leave my hands and it's in his, it is gone forever. He will lick the plate clean and never look back.  So i've learned to have my fill before doing the swap and take a moment to say my goodbyes because that is IT for me.  It's caused a few heartbreaks when the food was particularly special and I traded with him, believing I'd get to have at least one more bite, only to have it extinguished. I feel such a sense of abrupt loss.  "I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. Taste one last crumb..."   It's tragic and harsh and endearingly annoying. 

3. This next one is something that has sent me into a half-humored uproar. I still think it's completely unacceptable.  What is it?  Well, Sean folds the DIRTY DISHCLOTHS that are lying around the kitchen.  SO THAT THEY LOOK CLEAN.  He folds them and puts them into a nice little orderly stack in the corner. So as to give the appearance, one might deduce, of being a stack of FRESHLY LAUNDERED TOWELS. And he'll do it even if they're damp!  So not only do they look clean and will confuse me to no end--will probably NEVER get washed, only recycled in an eternal filth cycle -- but also, they don't have a chance to dry overnight! Because they're all folded up! I know!!!  See?   He keeps doing it.  We compromised by him folding them into triangles so I'll know they're dirty.  This was his suggestion, making a more complex fold shape.  Because he just can't not.  

Bless his heart.