Here Is 36

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As I advance in age, I have attempted to soften the blow of each passing year by naming it. For example, last birthday I coined it my “Presidential Year” as I turned 35 and was legally eligible to run for President of the United States. This year, I have gone completely nerdy and themed turning 36 as my “6 (Squared)Year.” Talk about riveting excitement, right?

That’s the thing. It is hard to spin 36 as anything but just a normal year. There is no milestone associated with it nor anything that makes it flashy or sexy. Perhaps the only thing it has going for it is that it is still several years away from 40.

Today I turned 36 and Sid once again made my favorite birthday cake—Candy Bar Cake.

So as I enter into a new year with little fanfare, I still embrace it with a full heart. I feel blessed and I am grateful to God for another year on Earth. Turning 36 isn’t a given, so I am thankful to reach this age, especially with full mental/physical capabilities and no major ailments. A birthday is time to be appreciative of the bigger picture.

And that bigger picture is what I have focused on for my past several birthday posts—sorry if these get really repetitive. But why not? I used to fret about turning a year older but that negative obsession ceased once I entered my thirties. With a loving family of my own, a strong faith, and a satisfying career, you grow to feel content and not worry about an extra candle gracing the cake.

Speaking of cake, I ate some today. I also played flag football, attended the Whitworth football game, and scarfed down pizza. I may have enjoyed a beer, too. Not a bad day, right?

This trip around the sun will kick off with a bang. I have a couple of big opportunities with work and a development or two on the home front. Better hold on tight, 36 is ready to make an impression. Don’t Blink.

Past Birthday Posts
Turning 35
Turning 34
Turning 33
Turning 32
Turning 31
Turning 30

Profanity Thursday Rundown

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Are you still riding the beautiful sunshine into October like we are? Autumn sure is gorgeous in Spokane and we are making sure to appreciate it. Speaking of things to appreciate, here is the latest Thursday Rundown…

F@#$ – The book that made me laugh the most this week was “Daddy Said A Word* I Never Heard.” It chronicles a young girl who observes her dad in various situations reacting with expletives. However, the profanity is expressed with Swedish furniture words. The young girl eventually goes to school and uses some of her father’s colorful language in the classroom. The teacher makes a phone call home and the dad has to re-evaluate what he says in the presence of his daughter. I must say that the book is creative and hilarious, but it also packs an important lesson that all parents should heed.

This book was creative, fun, and packed a relevant message for parents. I recommend “Daddy Said A Word I Never Heard.”

Latest Movies – Sidney and I found time to watch a couple films this week. We started with the much-hyped “Hocus Pocus 2.” Let me put it this way: In a blog post this week, I called the original movie “overrated.” The sequel is half as good as “Hocus Pocus.” Take that as you will. We also watched “Meet Cute,” a time travel movie on Peacock that stars Pete Davidson and Kaley Cuoco. I have been critical of Davidson in the past, but I thought his performance in this film was pretty solid. The movie had an eccentric vibe, which I didn’t mind, but I don’t think it did enough to differentiate itself from the countless other “Groundhog Day”-esque that exist in cinema. I wouldn’t recommend either film.

I wouldn’t recommend “Hocus Pocus 2” or “Meet Cute.”

National Noodle Day – Today we celebrate National Noodle Day, a day I don’t know what we would do without. Yes, I am kidding. But I am not joking about my genuine love for noodles. Whether ramen, pasta, chow mein, or its many other forms, I could easily exist on a noodle-exclusive diet. In honor of today, I share a photo of something that Sid picked up at Fred Meyer back in July 2021. Called Trio Italiano, it was a pasta with three different types of noodles—rotini, penne, and shells. It made for delicious buttered noodles!

This wasn’t your normal package of noodles.

Go Mariners – Big congrats to the Seattle Mariners for overcoming the most depressing streak in major men’s North American spots! A 21-year playoff drought was snapped this past weekend as the M’s clinched a Wild Card spot. Part of me feels overjoyed and another part of me feels really old. I vividly remember the last time Seattle played in the postseason more than two decades ago. Dang, how fast time goes. Even though I am no longer the diehard Mariners fan I was growing up, I wish the ball club the best of luck in the playoffs. I wouldn’t mind a World Series appearance.

Congratulations to the Mariners for ending their playoff drought!

DIVA – Tie-dye pajamas…oversized unicorn…sleep mask…yep, that’s a diva! But we love Sloan for it and this image earns Don’t Blink Picture of the Week.

She takes after her mom.

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Okay, let’s wrap this up. I am looking forward to the best weekend of the year (any guesses why?). Don’t Blink.

Re-Visiting the Bag Ban

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At the start of this month a year ago, the state of Washington imposed a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags. The plastic grocery bags we all grew up with were “sacked” and a new, heavier duty reusable plastic bag was introduced. What’s not to love, right?

Well, the new bags came with a price. If you go to Walmart, Rosauers, Target, or any other retailer, you must pay 8 cents for a bag. If you scoff at forking out some extra coins for what used to be free, you are more than welcome to use your own tote bags or simply carry your items in your hands. In fact, that is what the state wants. In the name of a healthier environment, Washington prefers that you are disgusted about the bag fee and refuse to pay for them.

Almost a year to the date, I wrote a blog post that examined the ban and new bag fee. I wrote this: It will be interesting to see how this ban is embraced statewide. I wonder where our family will stand a year from now. Will we be bringing our own tote bags into Safeway? Or will we be hanging onto the original eight bags we bought at the end of last week?

This photo was taken a year ago when I brought the new 8-cent bags home for the first time.

It turns out that the answer to both those questions I asked in October 2021 is a big, fat NO.

Although Sidney has tote bags, she doesn’t use them anymore. And those eight bags we purchased the initial week of the ban? We used them the first day we brought them home. Whether for diaper disposal, lunch packing, or toy holder, we utilized them in the exact same ways we used their flimsier cousins.

As it turns out, the ban and bag fee did little to change our habits. When we go to the grocery store, we don’t blink at the bag fee. We just use as many bags necessary to corral our groceries and happily pay the designated toll. Besides, the new bags are larger and sturdier than the ones used pre-October 2021 so we rarely use more than six bags when we go grocery shopping. That adds a whopping 56 cents to our bill.

In my opinion, I actually think it is a bargain! As I have already said multiple times, these bags are considerably better than their predecessors. Put me down for TWENTY bags per visit if you want. I assure you, we will gladly use them for other purposes once we unpack our groceries at home.

I would be interested to know about metrics related to the ban. There is no doubt that it has cut down plastic bag consumption to some degree. I know not everyone purchases them like they are going out of style. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if the purge isn’t as significant as hoped.

In the end, I like to think the adjustments made last year resulted in a win-win for everyone involved. A step was taken to reduce the use of plastic bags but those who wanted to continue using them were given a superior alternative at a cheap price. Go Washington! Don’t Blink.

Beau Being Beau

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Tomorrow, Beau will turn 2 ⅔ years old. Remember, you use specific ages like this up until they turn 3. As we celebrate this milestone, and so I can remember the cute quirks he had at this age for years to come, I have five quick current Beau-isms to share.

Tonight’s blog post is all about Beau and his eccentricities. This photo was taken this morning as he was enjoying his bowl of Trix.

Shut Eyes and Disappear. These days, if Beau is in trouble (and believe it or not, it happens), he has a predictable response. I will approach him and his little eyes will shut so hard. I am not talking his eyelids gently closing, I mean his eyeball sockets transforming into little slits. For some reason he thinks that “out of sight, out of mind” is going to work on me.

Hot Milk. Have we regressed? Beau’s current favorite drink is “hot milk.” He demands that we heat up his sippy cup of milk in the microwave. The worst part? If it isn’t heated to his desired temperature he will act like an outraged restaurant customer and send it back to the kitchen. He conveys this by throwing his sippy cup at us and yelling “MORE.” We give my mom a hard time that she started this trend by microwaving Beau’s milk when Sid and I were in Hawaii.

Tummy Time. For the past couple weeks, Beau has needed me to fall asleep. There was one evening when he was having a tough time falling asleep. I took him out to the living room, laid my back down on the couch, and let him rest on my chest. This was successful in calming him and now he asks for it nightly by saying “daddy’s tummy.” I will be out of town next week so Sid and I had to put our feet down. Last night we ignored his constant requests he made from his crib for “daddy’s tummy.”

Mr. Roboto. Beau loves robots. Anything on our 12 streaming services that features a robot he will watch. If he sees a robot toy or a depiction of a robot he will immediately gravitate toward it. He will even classify non-robots as robots. I have a Gold’s Gym shirt that features the classic logo of the silhouette bodybuilder holding a weight bar. Whenever I come home from the gym wearing it, he points and says, “ROBOT.” I wish I still had my 2-XL to give him.

He’s a sucker. Beau’s favorite candy is a Dum Dum. He will consume a half dozen in a sitting if we aren’t watching. The most peculiar thing? He doesn’t really suck them. Instead, he gnaws at them which makes fingers on a chalkboard sound more pleasant. Our ears, his teeth.

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Well, if this blog post serves its intended purpose, hopefully Beau can look back on it when he is 16 ⅔ years old with a smile. I just wonder if he will still like Dum Dums? Don’t Blink.

The Most Overrated Parts of October

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October has arrived. Thank goodness, I love this month! Yes, it is my birthday month but there are so many other reasons why I enjoy it. As I am sure you are not surprised, I actually blogged about my fandom of October. However, I don’t think it is all tricks and treats. Here is a list of my five overrated aspects of October…

I love October, but there are a few things about it that I don’t particularly care for.

Pumpkin Spice – I am a big fan of pumpkin pie but the pumpkin spice-flavored explosion over the past several years is out of control. I don’t want a pumpkin latte, pumpkin-scented hand soap, or pumpkin-flavored ice cream. Oh well, I suppose it isn’t something to get too worked up about.

Hocus Pocus – I prefer scary Halloween movies so perhaps that automatically puts me at odds with “Hocus Pocus.” But I just can’t understand the mania for this film. I guess it conveys an authentic Halloween spirit but I don’t think it is worthy of marathons, cult worship, and classroom party viewings. With that said, I did honor my wife’s request to watch “Hocus Pocus 2” with her on Saturday night.

Candy Corn – I scorn candy corn. Not going to apologize for my dislike of a chalky, weird-tasting confection. If I lived in a neighborhood where I hated all my neighbors, I would pass out candy corn on Halloween. Unless we are talking about candy corn-flavored M&M’s, I want nothing to do with the treat.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds – No. Just…no. Roasting pumpkin seeds is actually a family tradition that my parents introduced but I could never jump on the bandwagon. I don’t know what I hated most…the smell of the seeds being cooked or their actual taste. I much rather plant the pumpkin seeds from my jack-o-lantern instead of consume them.

Christmas Commercialism – Wait, what? This is an October-themed blog post. Unfortunately, the commercialization of Christmas is now a big deal in October. Before trick-or-treaters even hit the streets, we are inundated with gift catalogues, Costco holiday displays, and even Christmas music in stores. Come on!

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Now that I have released all of my October negativity, I will return to enjoying the month that I love. I hope your October is glorious. Don’t Blink.

Worms In Dirt Thursday Rundown

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Good evening, my highly esteemed readers! As we close out September tomorrow, let me give you some of the final joy you will receive this month with my Thursday Rundown…

Best September – There is no place in this country that can hold a candle to the perfect weather we had in Spokane this month. Perhaps it was Mother Nature’s way of throwing us a bone after a delayed start to summer, but the weather we have enjoyed in September has been nothing short of spectacular. The mix of warmth, slight briskness, and zero humidity all contributed to many beautiful days and prime “eating outside” weather. Just this past Sunday we celebrated my brother’s birthday on my parents’ back deck and it was glorious. Hey October, feel free to pick up where September left off.

All smiles this past weekend as we celebrated my brother’s birthday on the back deck of my parents.

Worms in Dirt – At the beginning of the month, I shared an animal cookie donut that Sloan devoured from Casual Friday Donuts. I thought it made sense to share a different type of donut she ate at the end of the month. After good behavior at mass, she once again had the chance to pick a treat from behind the Casual Friday Donut glass and she chose the “Worms in Dirt” donut. The play on the popular children’s dessert-themed donut garnered the same rave review that the animal cookie one did.

Sloan holding her “worms in dirt” donut from Casual Friday Donuts.

Froyo Flashback – Back in the infancy of my blog, I used it as an excuse to do a lot of unhealthy things. Case in point: On this date nine years ago, I chronicled my Spokane froyo tour. During the peak of the froyo craze, I visited three froyo shops during a weekend visit from Missoula. In the same vein as area coffee stands that I wrote about yesterday, the froyo joints were all essentially similar but did have a couple attributes of distinction. You can read my froyo post from Sept. 29, 2013, by clicking here.

A photo of me at Froyo Earth in Spokane during my froyo tour of the city in September 2013.

First Ever Top Ten – I was a fan of David Letterman when he had his late night show. Heck, I even went to a taping of it when I visited New York. I always enjoyed his top ten lists and even had a book that featured a compilation of them. This month marks the 37th anniversary of when Letterman presented his first ever top ten list. I saw that original list on Twitter and I found it be very….um…unfunny? #SorryNotSorry.

Am I missing something?

What Happened? – Blame it on me. I jinxed it. Earlier this month, I wrote with jubilation about gas prices going down. Well, I went to bed last night and when I woke up this morning I swear prices jumped 50 cents per gallon. And don’t tell me Hurricane Ian is responsible. I hope they go back down as quickly as they went up.

Gas jumped to $4.79 this morning at the station closest to my house. What happened?!

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September was awesome but I am a big fan of October for many reasons…including one that entails cake. Have a safe and relaxing weekend. Don’t Blink.

Coffee Land

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A quirk of the Pacific Northwest is that the streets of our region are lined with drive-thru coffee stands. If you need your caffeine fix, you need not drive more than 100 yards to find an aesthetically-pleasing, “cute” hut-like structure to satisfy your coffee dreams.

Although I am not a java drinker by any means, I am quite familiar with drive-thru coffee stands. Having a wife who is frequently in the mood for a white chocolate mocha will make you well-acquainted.

Tonight I thought I would share with you some of the eccentricities of these stands. I am well aware that National Coffee Day is tomorrow but who plans such a grandiose day on a Thursday? Don’t they know I write my rundown on that day? So excuse me for jumping the gun a day early, but here is my #NationalCoffeeDay post…

Shotzy’s is a Spokane Valley coffee stand that we visit frequently.

Every driver for themselves. Apparently the million coffee stands that already exist in our state aren’t enough. Go to any stand right before 8 a.m. or slightly after 5 p.m. and you will encounter a line even more intense than one at the grand opening of a new Chick-fil-A restaurant.

Free smells. Even for a non-coffee drinker like myself, the headache of waiting in line forever is lessened just a bit by the fresh smell of brew permeating from the stand. Roll those windows down!

Card club. If your coffee stand doesn’t have a punch card, is it even a coffee stand? If you live in Spokane, then nope. You should see the different colors, textures, and designs of all the different cards from various stands we have in our front stowage. People who want to save the trees would be appalled.

$$$. An additional way these places are all the same are the prices. Inflation gave the stands justification for another price hike and it’s a little paiful. Pretty much any 16 oz. drink will cost you north of $5.

The name game. Higher Ground. Brews Bros. Bean Me Up. Shotzy’s. These are all the coffee-inspired names of our favorite local stands. While these are all creative, I appreciate the name of the business that used its location in town for an especially unique moniker—Bigelow Gulp.

Do it for the gram. All of these stands are on Instagram and it is a cutthroat competition to see who can photograph the prettiest cup of coffee, which baristas can radiate the most spunk in their selfies, and what dog hanging out the driver’s seat window can generate the most likes.

Speaking of spunk. I would say that although a lot of the coffee stands are similar in many ways, these businesses differentiate themselves with their baristas. Some are super happy, some are sassy, some are reserved. Different stands carry different vibes.

Tip please. I pay with a card pretty much every time I visit a coffee stand. Half of them will shove a tablet in my face to leave a tip and the other half will just return my card to me. After paying $5.75 for 16 oz. of coffee, I prefer the latter gesture.

Coffee and more. Many of these businesses are transforming from coffee stands to restaurants—or at least bakeries. I have watched the menus of many places we frequent expand to include pastries, breakfast sandwiches, stuffed bagels, gourmet cookies, and much more. From cheers to Bon Appetit.

It’s about the kids. Kudos to the coffee stands who keep a cup of Dum Dum suckers at the window to give Sloan and Beau when they are riding with me. Congratulations, you legitimately increased your chances of me stopping at your stand if the wife calls and asks me to bring her a coffee home.

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Hope everyone is able to get their favorite cup of coffee tomorrow…except for me, because I don’t drink coffee. Thanks to everyone in the business who keeps this city so well-caffeinated. Don’t Blink.

Big Brother 24: Average

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Make it a dozen! With the finale of Big Brother 24 tonight, Sid and I will have watched 12 seasons together (2014-22 summer seasons and three celebrity seasons). Not bad for a former reality TV sourpuss.

Big Brother 24 concludes tonight.

However, this post isn’t about my television habits. Rather, the focus should shine on the 16 houseguests who battled it out on CBS over the past 70+ days.

Coming off last year’s historic season that saw the Cookout alliance do something incredibly special, it was tough—if not impossible—for #BB24 to top it. Naturally, it didn’t—but that’s okay. Although I wouldn’t say this music fest-themed season will go down as especially memorable, Sid and I were still engaged from start to finish as we watched every single episode.

A couple stories from this season stick out. Taylor’s rise from house villain at the beginning to respected competitor on finale night is at the top of my list. She managed to shake off Daniel’s savage “apologize for some things you’ve said in this house” rebuke to not only outlast him but at least 13 other houseguests as well.

I like Taylor and respect the journey she has taken in the house.

Then there is Michael. I was so impressed with his social game and competition prowess. During a significant stretch of the season I was rooting for him. However, that all changed after he schemed with Brittany to bring to light comments that Kyle made a couple weeks prior. I found this strategy insincere, desperate, and self-serving. I went from “I hope he wins” to “I hope he gets evicted.” Thankfully, he wouldn’t last long after Kyle as he received his eviction vote during the round of six.

I thought Michael was great until the stunt that he pulled on Kyle.

Except for my desire to see Michael evicted after the Kyle stunt, I didn’t really have super strong feelings of either admiration or disgust for any houseguest. This lack of passion certainly contributed to my assessment that #BB24 won’t go down as “especially memorable” for me. With that said, I do have an opinion on who I want to see win the $750,000 tonight…

I could live with either Monte or Taylor taking the top prize. Monte has played a solid game and won key competitions when he needed to. He has been level-headed and a cool customer from start to finish and I think that deserves to be rewarded. When it comes to Taylor, I simply admire the journey she has taken in the house. As I mentioned, she went from public enemy #1 to power player. My apologies to Turner, I just never could jump on his bandwagon.

Monte is a solid player and I would be happy if he won.

With respect to America’s Favorite Houseguest, if it isn’t Monte or Taylor, I am pulling for Joseph. In addition to playing a competitive game before running into some bad luck during Dire Fest, I enjoyed his personality and found him to be a cool guy.

This upcoming week will be strange without Sidney and I catching up on “Big Brother” episodes during the lunch break. Oh well, it will free up our time a bit. Thanks to CBS and Julie Chen for another fun season and thanks to my lovely wife for watching with me. Until next season, America! Don’t Blink.

Reaction Thursday Rundown

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Happy Autumn (or “Fall,” if that is what you prefer)! I always feel when Fall comes around it is always kind of like “well, duh.” School has already been in session for weeks, the weather has started to get a little cooler, and the days ae shorter…I don’t need the calendar to officially tell me that the season has changed. Alright, rant over. Let’s get to tonight’s Thursday Rundown…

Uniform and Pajamas – I am sticking in a random photo of Sloan and Beau. This was taken right before Sloan went off to school earlier this week. On Tuesdays, students at St. Mary go to mass and are required to wear their sweaters which explains Sloan’s outfit. Beau? He is wearing his favorite lobster-patterned pajamas (although he calls them crabs). The combination of wardrobes made for an interesting picture.

There is never a dull moment, even early in the morning, with these two.

Happy Centenarian Day! – Today is when we give special recognition to all the amazing people who have defied the odds and lived to 100 and beyond. I once wrote about whether I would want to live to 100 or not. At the time I was a little wishy-washy but I have since solidified my position: I would be honored and blessed to see my 100th birthday. My favorite Centenarian is Emma Lommasson, a University of Montana legend who lived to be 107. I met her in 2013 when she was 103. Do you know a Centenarian? Make sure to reach out to him or her today.

This is me with Emma Lommasson in December of 2013.

Honey Charms – In our pantry we have this limited edition of Lucky Charms. If you like a little honey with your cereal, this might be your cup of tea. As I was looking up the origin behind this newest version of the classic breakfast staple, I learned a couple interesting facts about Lucky Charms. Did you know Lucky the Leprechaun was replaced by a wizard for a short period? Or that General Mills sold small packages of just the marshmallows? Or that when the cereal first debuted in the 1960s, the corn pieces were Cheerio-type pieces instead? You learn something new every day.

These aren’t the best but not the worst either.

Texting Reactions – More than four years ago, I wrote about Apple’s iMessage reactions that allow you to “like,” “love,” “question,” and “emphasize” text messages. Back in 2018 I made it clear that I was both a big fan and user of them. Well, nothing has changed in 2022. I still use (and some people will say abuse) them. I thought it was funny that the topic of iMessage reactions came up in a recent Miss Manners column. You can tell there is a generational divide both on the part of the advice seeker and Miss Manners herself as they try to explain and address reactions. In typical Miss Manners fashion, her response packed some sarcasm at the end.

Perhaps Miss Manners’ advice should have been “ditch the Android and just get an iPhone.”

Happy Birthday, Bro – I wanted to wish a happy early birthday to a special dude. He is my fiercest critic but also one of my main supporters. He brings me down to earth but also allows me to have some glory every now and then. He will call me out but would also defend me if I ever needed it. Happy 33rd birthday to my brother, the one and only Mr. Glen Reser. Enjoy your special day tomorrow, good sir.

I would give this speech again in a heartbeat. Happy birthday, Glen!

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I hope everyone has a great first weekend of Fall. Thanks for reading and let’s continue to pray for innocent Ukrainians impacted by the current conflict and everyone else in this world suffering from the horror of war. Don’t Blink.

Complete Trash

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A convenience of suburbia living is trash pickup. The luxury of a weekly service that arrives at our residences and hauls away garbage is something most of us take for granted. I know we do. To combat this ignorance, I have tried to educate Sloan on this modern day amenity by explaining how the waste management system works and where the trash goes.

Sloan taking in the trash this past Monday.

To make the trash pickup process smooth for waste management workers, we need to take responsibility for a few simple things. They include placing our bins at the end of our driveway on our designated day, paying attention to the holiday schedule, and making sure that trash isn’t overflowing.

Unfortunately, we aren’t always perfect. Some weeks we have to use strength to crunch down our trash bags so they “fit” within the can—even if that means that the lid is fully ajar. The holiday schedule also occasionally throws us for a loop (Sid, it is Labor Day—is our trash getting picked up?). But probably what causes us to think twice the most is our designated pickup day.

You see, for about 34 years, my trash was always picked up on Thursday. It didn’t matter what city I lived in or what residence I called home, the garbage man came on Thursday. Period.

Growing up, the three of us kids would always bring the small trash cans from our rooms up to the front door on Wednesday night for my dad to empty into the big bin. When I lived in a house in Missoula with roommates, Thursday was always the day. In Myrtle Beach, I lived in three different houses and trash pickup was Thursday for each one. When we moved back to Spokane, trash pickup was also Thursday for the first house we lived in. I basically assumed that Thursday was trash day for everyone!

What a shock it was 13 months ago when we moved into our current house and trash pickup was…Monday? It seemed so foreign to me. Perhaps the transition would have been easier if pickup was Wednesday or Friday but Monday just seemed to extreme. More than a year later, I am still getting used to it.

However, when I communicate my struggles to others, they actually say Monday is a great day for garbage day. It comes right after the weekend when trash can pile up and with Monday being the start of the week, trash removal is just kind of a natural thing to have done.

Well, okay. When it all comes down to it, whether it be Thursday or Monday, I am grateful that we have the first world luxury of trash pickup. Don’t Blink.