A New Toothbrush

I forgot to pack my toothbrush for Pennsylvania.

This wasn't the only thing that was left behind. Mom's loaf of cinnamon raisin bread, intended to be shared with all the Davises, is still in our fridge at home. The coffee I had roasted for the trip is still in a kitchen cupboard. And apparently my very worn-out purple toothbrush is still in the bathroom.

My toothbrush isn't worn out because it's old. It's worn out because I am, apparently, an extraordinarily vigorous brusher. J commented on this several times before I believed her, and experience has proven her right. If we both open new toothbrushes at the same time, hers will still look relatively new one month later, and mine will look like I've been punishing it by jamming the bristles into a food processor.

So I went downstairs and asked J's mom if she had a spare toothbrush anywhere, and being a thoughtful host, she had a whole drawerful of extra toiletries for needy/forgetful guests like myself in a dresser drawer upstairs.

But in Owen's room. Where Owen was sleeping.

I slowly turned his doorknob, careful not to make any clicking sound as I pushed the door onwards, even lifting up on the handle in case the bottom might run against the carpet. I tiptoed over to the dresser, and gently eased out the 2nd drawer down. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and pressed the home button--not the full flashlight, lest Owen should happen to be sleeping with his face towards me, but just the little glow of light that came from my Unlock screen, by which I could distinguish several new toothbrushes in their cases lying in the drawer.

I picked one up, put it in my pocket, and tiptoed out of the room. I shut the door behind me just as quietly as I'd opened it, then went into the bathroom and pulled the toothbrush out of my pocket.

"Boy, this is kind of girly." I thought to myself.

"In fact, it looks just like J's."

I saw J's toothbrush lying on the sink.

Light pink, light pink.

Oral B in blue letters, Oral B in blue letters.

Relatively new looking bristles, relatively new looking bristles.

I'm going to have to brush my teeth even harder than usual so that we can tell them apart.

Owen Helps With Chores

I. Laundry

Dad-Collects laundry from bathroom, Owen's room, James' room (James: "What are you doing? Oh. Shut the door all the way when you leave."), sorts into lights and darks, carries down to the basement in three trips, starts laundry.

Owen-Plays with bathroom sink, eventually taking off shirt and submerging it under the running water.

Dad-Changes Owen's shirt, throws wet shirt in dirty laundry.

Owen-Rides in baskets of dirty laundry down two flights of stairs three times, explores basement in sock feet

II. Tires

Dad-Goes out to car to move all-season tires from trunk to basement

Owen-Waits at the kitchen door for Dad to come back, slams door on him just as he is about to step into the house with a tire on each arm

Dad-Goes to powder room to wash grease off of hands

Owen-Also goes to powder room. Throws a hand towel into the sink as Dad is washing his hands.

Dad-Puts hand towel in dirty laundry basket down in basement

Owen-Takes off shirt, runs water all over it in powder room sink

Dad-Locks powder room door, changes Owen's shirt, puts shirt in dirty laundry

III. Trash and recycling

Dad-Takes recycling bin out to curb

Owen-Slams kitchen door shut just as Dad is about to walk back into the house

Dad-Collects trash bags from all over the house, including the powder room, where Owen shredded an entire roll of toilet paper the previous day

Owen-Carries tied off trash bags to the kitchen door, including the bag full of wasted toilet paper, complaining "I's 'eavyy...."

Dad-Takes waste bin out to curb

Owen-Slams door in Dad's face just as he is about to step back into the house, runs away laughing.

IV. Work Emails

Dad-Writes a long work email to a choir member about worship planning and choir recruitment.

Owen-Walks up and presses the power button to the laptop just as Dad is signing his name and getting ready to hit send.

Fear Itself

Things That James Was Afraid of Today:

The soundtrack to Return of the Jedi
The possibility of ghosts living in the backyard
Brushing his teeth by himself
Not being able to button his pajamas
Owen getting into the Christmas tree
My stubble
The likelihood of his having a beard some day
My African-American trumpet student
Falling over on his bike
A type of Wegman's pizza he'd never tried before

Things That Owen Was Not Afraid of Today:

Walking around the house without pants
Walking around the backyard in the dark without a flashlight
Getting into the Christmas tree
Flying leaps off of the sofa
Flying leaps off of the stepstool
Climbing onto and walking across the dining room table to retrieve a sippy cup on the other side
Eating semi fossilized food he found under his high chair
My African-American trumpet student (or, as Owen thinks of him, his new friend)
Toilet-related bacteria
Pillow fights with anyone who would fight back