7 Quick Takes about Organizing Just for Fun, Scary Toads, and When Arbor Day Takes a Morbid Turn

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week? 

—1—

At the tail end of my trip, my sister-in-law mentioned some major home reorganization she wanted to do before having her second baby this summer (i.e: declutter her entire craft room, transport it to a "craft corner" in the basement, and convert the craft room into a nursery.)

Since I can't think of anything more fun than decluttering and organizing, I immediately volunteered for that job and spent all day with her. I think everyone else went hiking to a waterfall or something, I don't know. I'm positive I had a better time with the label maker and the two huge bins we filled up with donations. 

Another sister joined us later in the day to help move things around, and then she sanded and painted furniture while we were making room in the kitchen for baby bottles and supplies. We got a ton done. I only wish I was that productive in 8 hours at home.

—2—

On the way back, I spotted this upscale-looking shop in the airport. It's like backwards Temu, both in pronunciation and also how everything is expensive instead of priced like it fell off the back of a truck.

I did not buy anything there.

—3—

The next few days were the usual routine of coming back and being overwhelmed with my daily life of driving a million little people to a million activities and working my tail off to maintain a marginally clean house while surrounded by a bunch of people who couldn't care less.

But just like always, it gradually gets better over the next few days until I'm not sure whether it's because the kids went feral while I was gone or because I just forgot what our daily life was like. Honestly, it's probably some of both. But I'm adjusting. 

—4—

My college freshman is applying for summer jobs and she said that a few of them required her to take a personality test. 

Which is weird, because it's not like she's not applying to be a mid-level marketing executive. If she passes the personality test, she'd be seating tables and taking orders at a neighborhood casual dining franchise. 

Here's an example of one of the questions: 

I'm not sure how to answer this one, or even what the question is getting at. Is it asking whether you're a carefree retiree, or whether you consistently choose inappropriate tires for the terrain you're biking on but don't let that bother you? 

—5—

Mobile check depositing is way more convenient than the old-school method of driving to the bank and physically handing it to a teller (all you have to do is upload a picture,) but I can't seem to get myself to try it.

If you ask me, I'll say that my bank is near the grocery store so it's just as easy for me to pop in and deposit checks when I'm driving by, but the real reason is that I don't trust online deposit. It seems too magical. What if it doesn't work? Unless I physically give them my check and watch them run it through the little machine, it feels like I'm just expecting them to take my word for it and put money in my account.

I'm aware that a distrust of new technology is how getting old starts.

However, my 20-year-old recently got a sizable tax refund check and said she wanted to physically go to the bank to deposit it just in case, which made me feel better. But maybe she's also getting old. She already doesn't understand any of the things my middle schooler is coming home and saying is cool.

—6—

I've been working through a long list of boring tasks that need to be done, including cleaning and fixing the trash can. It took a while and was kind of a gross job, but at least I got to be outside on a nice day. And now the trash can lid closes all the way!

When I was putting everything away afterward, though, I got scared to death. I was rolling up the hose, bent over with my hand on the crank, and suddenly the wheel turned toward me and there was a toad flying at my face from 4 inches away.

It was a big fat one, too.

—7—

Remember the tree my third grader brought home for Arbor Day? It may have sat there for over a week, but we finally planted it and it was probably the most thoughtfully we've ever placed one of the Arbor Day trees the school has sent home with each of our 6 kids.

My daughter and I carefully triangulated its position, taking turns having one person standing in the spot and the other person observing it from different angles to see if we liked how it looked. And then I planted it with my son that day.

"When it gets big, will it be a good climbing tree?" he asked.

"For your kids, maybe," I answered.

He looked almost as disappointed as when I was wondering out loud if the fully mature tree would take up too much of the yard and Phillip said, "Don't worry about it, we'll be basically dead by then, anyway."

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