A little while back, my sister and her husband came to visit. It was nice to see the two of them, and I was glad to have them around. However, this meant that there were two more people sleeping in the house than usual. Normally, this isn't a huge problem: you let the guests use any kind of a guest room or extra couches you have, and you make sure that they've got whatever supplies they need. In my case, that's not really an option, but ultimately, it led to me laughing at myself for several days in a row.
First of all, let's start with the guest room option. In my house, that room has several cribs in it; it gets used for the day care. Most adults I know won't fit there, so it's not a very good option. Sure, we could throw an air mattress or some sleeping bags in there, but it's not entirely comfortable to be cramped by several pieces of furniture like that. Also, if any of the babies actually need to take a morning nap, said guests are going to get kicked out. Suffice it to say, it's not the best option.
The couches are also poor options, for a couple of reasons. First of all, I get up really early, at what a friend of mine once described as, "the ass crack of dawn." If you're sleeping on a couch and I'm making myself breakfast or turning on the kitchen or dining room lights, I'm likely going to wake you up. Secondly, the living room is a place of business once the kids start showing up, so anyone sleeping there has to be up, dressed, and out of the way by the time the first munchkin shows up. They don't show up super early, but it's early enough that it's an inconvenience to anyone sleeping on a couch.
Well, okay, so what did that leave? I let said guests use my room, and I took the couch. Since I was gone long before any munchkins were around, I didn't have to worry about them bothering me. In theory, this plan worked like a charm. All I had to do was get ready in the morning without issue. At this point, the phrase "easier said than done" should probably be going through your head.
The first night, I made sure to grab my backpack and my gym bag from my room before going to bed. The thinking was that I didn't want to bother anyone by having to poke my head into the room at dawn. In fact, I even remember thinking about it the night before I had to go to work, with the intent of grabbing everything I would need in the morning. You know what I didn't grab, though? The actual clothes I needed to wear to work. The office in which I work has a business casual dress code, so I definitely needed to change. Dammit, I had to sneak in to the bedroom while making as little noise as possible. Luckily, I didn't really wake anyone, but I was kicking myself during the whole drive to work.
The next night, I vowed not to repeat the same mistake. I mean, it was a simple fix, right? The good news was that I didn't repeat the same mistake. The bad news was that I grabbed my work clothes, but I forgot my dress shoes. So, I snuck back in to the room to grab those. Again, I was quiet enough about it that it wasn't a huge deal, but I ended up laughing at myself for forgetting something again.
Ultimately, I ended up repeating this pattern enough that I started thinking about it as a comedy of errors. I kept getting progressively better about remembering items I needed, but I seemed to always forget something. Of course, practice makes perfect, so I did eventually get it right. Unfortunately, I only got to that level of proficiency on the very last night that my sister and brother-in-law were staying with us. When I realized this the next morning, I laughed at myself even more. It took me several days' worth of attempts to finally avoid sneaking in to the room, but I only managed to get it right on the very last day in which it mattered. Talk about situational comedy.
All in all, though, this led to me to two conclusions. First of all, it is surprisingly hard to break habits, to the point where deviating from a routine can lead to all sorts of mistakes. That particular conclusion should come as a surprise to absolutely no one, since it's something that you've likely heard before. Heck, I tend to say, "habits die hard" all the time. Secondly, and more importantly, all of my sneaking in to the room led me to believe that I may actually have a future as a ninja. Maybe I can't be the guy who plans huge operations, but if you need someone to infiltrate a bedroom with minimal noise, I'm your man.
First of all, let's start with the guest room option. In my house, that room has several cribs in it; it gets used for the day care. Most adults I know won't fit there, so it's not a very good option. Sure, we could throw an air mattress or some sleeping bags in there, but it's not entirely comfortable to be cramped by several pieces of furniture like that. Also, if any of the babies actually need to take a morning nap, said guests are going to get kicked out. Suffice it to say, it's not the best option.
The couches are also poor options, for a couple of reasons. First of all, I get up really early, at what a friend of mine once described as, "the ass crack of dawn." If you're sleeping on a couch and I'm making myself breakfast or turning on the kitchen or dining room lights, I'm likely going to wake you up. Secondly, the living room is a place of business once the kids start showing up, so anyone sleeping there has to be up, dressed, and out of the way by the time the first munchkin shows up. They don't show up super early, but it's early enough that it's an inconvenience to anyone sleeping on a couch.
Well, okay, so what did that leave? I let said guests use my room, and I took the couch. Since I was gone long before any munchkins were around, I didn't have to worry about them bothering me. In theory, this plan worked like a charm. All I had to do was get ready in the morning without issue. At this point, the phrase "easier said than done" should probably be going through your head.
The first night, I made sure to grab my backpack and my gym bag from my room before going to bed. The thinking was that I didn't want to bother anyone by having to poke my head into the room at dawn. In fact, I even remember thinking about it the night before I had to go to work, with the intent of grabbing everything I would need in the morning. You know what I didn't grab, though? The actual clothes I needed to wear to work. The office in which I work has a business casual dress code, so I definitely needed to change. Dammit, I had to sneak in to the bedroom while making as little noise as possible. Luckily, I didn't really wake anyone, but I was kicking myself during the whole drive to work.
The next night, I vowed not to repeat the same mistake. I mean, it was a simple fix, right? The good news was that I didn't repeat the same mistake. The bad news was that I grabbed my work clothes, but I forgot my dress shoes. So, I snuck back in to the room to grab those. Again, I was quiet enough about it that it wasn't a huge deal, but I ended up laughing at myself for forgetting something again.
Ultimately, I ended up repeating this pattern enough that I started thinking about it as a comedy of errors. I kept getting progressively better about remembering items I needed, but I seemed to always forget something. Of course, practice makes perfect, so I did eventually get it right. Unfortunately, I only got to that level of proficiency on the very last night that my sister and brother-in-law were staying with us. When I realized this the next morning, I laughed at myself even more. It took me several days' worth of attempts to finally avoid sneaking in to the room, but I only managed to get it right on the very last day in which it mattered. Talk about situational comedy.
All in all, though, this led to me to two conclusions. First of all, it is surprisingly hard to break habits, to the point where deviating from a routine can lead to all sorts of mistakes. That particular conclusion should come as a surprise to absolutely no one, since it's something that you've likely heard before. Heck, I tend to say, "habits die hard" all the time. Secondly, and more importantly, all of my sneaking in to the room led me to believe that I may actually have a future as a ninja. Maybe I can't be the guy who plans huge operations, but if you need someone to infiltrate a bedroom with minimal noise, I'm your man.
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