Trash Marathon
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The other day, a little trash emergency took place at my house ... well, it was actually a very BIG trashy emergency! Our landscaping guys were diligently working on our green privacy screen (that's code name for: the paparazzi have had way TOO long to shoot photos of our every move, and the day has come that a large tree barrier is being planted to give us back some well-deserved and much-wanted privacy), and I mentioned to them that I wondered if the trash collection guys would be picking up on Monday, the observed July 4th holiday.
I was quite convinced that they would push trash collection to Tuesday that week, and so I made the decision not to put out our two large blue trash cans, smaller tan can, and the six or eight boxes of crushed boxes, bags and packaging that were overloading my garage waiting for pickup day that week.
It was a huge gamble on my part to play this game of trash roulette. If I missed pickup, our garbage collection would be overwhelming and over limit by the following Monday. Trash would essentially threaten to overtake our entire garage! This would not be good at all!
Nevertheless, I was convinced pickup was moved until Tuesday. I went about my morning routine, beginning to attack my long list of tasks for the day. I was packing the kids and myself for a trip, had to orchestrate the schedule, finish some laundry and do some paperwork.
At one point, I ventured outside to get something from the garage and I was met with a guy in green who informed me, regretfully, that he had just seen a trash truck slowly pass by. Sudden refuse-regret struck me ... And I did what any trash-ridden mother of eight would do -- I immediately excused myself and hopped into my awaiting getaway car and drove safely but somewhat hastily down the road in search of my savior: the garbage man!
Not too far from home, looming around a sharp corner, I located the large, stinky truck! It was a beautiful sight! I pulled over and put down my window and desperately asked the sanitation workers to please return to my home to get my trash! They kindly agreed (and for the record, I was not surprised because they have been so very kind to us in the past!), so I rushed home to start the refuse parade!
Mady was nearby, so I enlisted her and her battery-operated vehicle to help! I grabbed anyone nearby and asked them to grab a trash can and begin wheeling it to the road. For all extraneous bags and boxes, I loaded the big blue bus to capacity for quick transport. Just as I was almost done loading though, I realized -- after dashing down and back with our two main cans -- the trash workers may think they had all of our trash and begin their departure prematurely!
So for a third time, I sprinted on foot to the end of the driveway to ask our landscapers to hold them until I brought the final load... After relaying the message, I ran back to the house, hopped into the big blue bus and drove to deliver the last of our weekly waste ... By the time I was done, I dubbed that my “trash marathon” because I felt like I had run one! But thankfully, in the end, our trash was taken and all was well. I'd say that sometimes silly accomplishments are so rewarding, except that, in our house, trash is serious business!
It's a beautiful day! :0)
~Kate
(Photo credit: Nicholas Eveleigh/Getty Images)
