Full Metal Jacket in the Laundry

A few days ago, I said that laundry is an excellent opportunity to exercise the golden rule, but I've seen where that gets me... Today, I went out to check on some towels I'd left in the washer & dryer. When I'm doing clothes, I set the timer and don't leave anything sitting, but I figure when I'm doing towels--those are used by everyone in the house and so we should all be able to share the responsibility of washing and drying them. So, I went to bed with a load in the washer and a load in the dryer.

In the midst of our argument the other day, Todd "promised" (tone of voice dripping with resentment and venom) to bring laundry he takes out of the dryer in to the house, rather than leaving it on the freezer. He said it in such a way that made me say, "Don't bother if if it's SO hard--if you can't do it with a better attitude."

Well, when I opened the dryer to take out the towels today, I found a load of Todd's socks and underwear. Wow, I thought, he took care of all those towels... then I opened the washer and found the towels I had left in the washer--wet and stuffed back in the washer. He had carried the towels from the dryer in and piled them on a love seat in the family room (which I do appreciate), but instead of putting the next load in the dryer while his underwear was washing, I guess he just took it out and set it I don't know where while he did his laundry... then he returned it to the washer. (To me that seems like more work than just drying the towels, but I guess it did help him in keeping his promise to bring in what he takes out of the dryer.)

This got me thinking... maybe I have this golden rule thing all wrong... maybe I've been projecting the way *I* would like things done too much and not examining the way *he* likes things done enough. So, as hard as it was to do, when I took his socks and underwear out of the dryer, I left them on the freezer lid. I know I don't like it done that way, but apparently he does... so, in an effort to please my husband, I left his stuff on the freezer... and when I go out to get something for dinner from the freezer, I may not have time to assure that none of it falls behind the freezer, but I'll comfort my OCD tendencies with the assurance that "this is the way Todd would like it done."

The war is on, Todd!

I just finished watching FULL METAL JACKET (not exactly my kind of flick, but it was an "assignment" for a project I'm working on). Maybe I've been treating Todd like a girl too long... I need to recognize a sniper as a sniper.

. . . well SHOOT! (Not literally) Todd came home for lunch so he went to get something from the freezer before I had a chance to . . . and that means he brought in his underwear before I had a chance to be accidentally petty and vindictive.