The "What Will They Do With the Kitchen Counter While I'm Out of Town?" Experiment

Before I left for Birmingham last week, I told my family that I'd be conducting a little domestic/sociological experiment. Of course, the fact that I told them I'd be doing this skewed my results, so it would be more accurate to say that I warned them, "Don't let stuff pile three feet high on that counter while I'm gone! You have no idea how many times a day I actually clear debris and shrapnel off that counter!"

(That's a mom's version of, "Hypothesis: If parental unit does not make expectations clear before said unit leaves town, results upon homecoming will be ugly.")

Ramona vowed to keep a captioned photo journal of the counter while I was gone. Here are the findings of our little experiment:

Ramona: "Day 1 Description: Not bad. About the same as when you left." 

(Me: I don't think I left my glasses there. And I don't remember leaving that birthday present teetering precariously on the counter's edge. But, okay. Not bad.) 

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Ramona: "Day 2 Description: Pretty good." 

(Me: Yes! That's what I'm talkin' about.) 

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Ramona: "Day 3 Description: Not horrible, but not great." 

(Me: Ummm, why does that gift keep migrating? Why are my glasses traveling around the counter when I'm out of town? I do, however, like that cookbook being out. It contains the chocolate cake recipe Atticus used for my birthday cake.) 

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Conclusion: 

Be sure to yell at everyone about the kitchen counter before you leave town.*  Make your expectations clear.

* I didn't actually yell, but, "Tease your daughters about the counter," doesn't sound as blogworthy as "yell at everyone."