Is it just me?

Probably. Day after day after day after day... We go over the same things. "Please do not tie the trash bag to the trash can." "Please do not put The Kids' tables this way." [The Boy's table is on the left; The Baby's table is on the right. Has to do with how much room they both need - and that our table - the one DH and I eat at - is in that same small space... The Boy's table is big; The Baby's table is small. How difficult is that?!?] "Please remember to put the shower curtain liner back inside the tub when you are done cleaning it." [Too many times both DH and I have NOT checked to make sure the liner is on the inside as we turn the water on to warm up before getting in the shower and the bathroom floors end up flooded.]

Every morning as I am doing my kitchen work - unloading the dishwasher, etc., as I reach for the trash can - there it is - the bag is tied, again. NO. Just stop it. First of all, the trash really doesn't need to be emptied twice a day. If there is only a third of a can - don't bother taking it. Yes. It goes out in the morning - when it is full, or almost full. But by the time Inom is ready to leave at 11:00, he grabs the can again - at most it has coffee grounds in it, ashtrays that have been emptied, and possibly a few used paper towels. I appreciate that he thinks he is doing me a favor. I'm using two trash bags a day this way - and it really does not have to be emptied as often as it is. One time. That's all. And DON'T TIE THAT BAG TO THE CAN AGAIN!

As I was standing in the kitchen at the sink earlier - the semi-full trash bag was already out, but I hadn't put a new bag in yet - Inom immediately grabbed it to put a new bag in and right in front of me started to tie it on. [It isn't really a "tie" so much as a foldover to make it tight.] STOP RIGHT THERE! Do not put the bag in that way. I asked you not to do it that way last week, I asked you not to do it that way yesterday, and now, I'm done asking you. I am telling you. Don't do it. Do you understand? "Yes, Madam." Anyone want to bet that tomorrow he ties the trash bag to the trash can? Ooh. Just annoys me.

And, then, I realize how thankful I need to be that I have someone who really does make my life easier by doing as much work for me as he does. I suspect he believes that my way of doing things is not the right way and that in his mind he believes he can "teach" me how things should be done. [Ha! Guess again. I don't think so.] I am thankful that I have household help. I realize that it is part of our lifestyle here and that when we return to the States I am not going to have a houseboy four days a week to clean up after us. I will likely have a once-a-week housekeeper like we did before we moved here, but I won't have someone who tidies things up for me four days a week. Man-oh-man have I gotten spoiled with his help. I don't even pick The Kids' toys up any more. I know that Inom will take care of it for me. So I am going to really try to quit being so nit-picky about things and just appreciate the fact that I have someone who comes and does the work that I don't want to do. It is going to mean biting my tongue but I need to do it. And, I'm going to have to put post-its in both bathrooms so that DH and I remember to check the shower curtain liner to make sure it is inside the tub before turning on the water...

I'm going to lunch today - at a friend's house who lives off our compound. I asked yesterday for her address so that I can tell the cab driver. She said, "Oh, no. I am sending my driver to pick you up." How cool is that? So, for all the moaning and griping I do about not being able to drive - and at this point - some six years later - I don't mind that I can't drive here, for the most part - when someone else gets to be responsible for it - pick me up at my door; drop me off at my door. With a driver - you never have to worry about finding a parking place - they drop you off at whatever door at the mall you want to go in - or in front of the stores and shops downtown - and they worry about the parking. Then they follow you and they carry your packages for you. They unload the trunk of the car for you when you're done shopping.

Yep. I just need to quit allowing all the little annoying things bother me. So what that Inom ties the trash bag. I'm going to let him. And so what that I can't just get in my truck and drive downtown. I'm going to let the drivers take care of that. We'll see how long I can go without becoming frustrated over some of "the little annoying things." Should we start a pool? Two days? A week? Ten o'clock this morning???