When Will I Learn?

As I arrived home from work this past Tuesday, I was thinking about my dry cleaner. I've been going to the same dry cleaner since we moved to our town in 1998 because it was the closest one to our apartment. I lucked out, though, because the owners are very competent and do a great job. These days, it's not very convenient to go there because we've since moved to a different part of town. However, I've tried others over the years but have never been completely satisfied anywhere else.

I was thinking about my dry cleaner because I actually want to see them less and spend less money at their store. However, I can't seem to wear a suit or dry clean only pants more than once or twice because my lovely children like to attack me when I get home and the residue of whatever they've been eating or doing at the time rubs off on my clothes. Peanut butter, chocolate, mustard, ketchup, not to mention various bodily secretions (no need to be more explicit). As an example, a couple of Sundays evenings ago, I returned from home teaching to "breakfast for dinner" (pancakes and sausage, with plenty of syrup). Somebody handed me a plate while I was sitting on the couch, where after one or two bites Katie did a kamikaze jump right in my lap, spilling syrup all over me and my tailor-made, freshly-laundered dry clean only pants.

Anyway, on Tuesday, I was wearing a brand new, never before worn pair of slacks when I came home from work. As I got out of the car, I thought to myself that I really should change my clothes as soon as I got in the house, to prevent any unwanted stains. Of course I was lazy and I didn't change, I decided to pick up Timmy and sit with him on the couch. He was a little less energetic than usual, so he just kind of sat there in my lap.

Mandy was telling me how Katie had gotten sick earlier in the day, with what looked like the same thing that was bothering Eliza this past Saturday (when she threw up on my recliner). I was listening to her when suddenly her eyes opened wide with surprise as she tried to describe the fact that Timmy was throwing up all over me. And my brand new slacks. One of these days I'll learn.