Toilet Paper Roll -- Written by Sean

There's something that I LOVE about my youngest, Maverick. Now before I say that, I should mention that I absolutely believe there to be a correct way to load a toilet paper roll, and that is in the manner that dispenses the squares at the front of the roll so you don't have to peel it from up against the back wall. For whatever reason however, Maverick doesn't do well with that arrangement. Every time he tries to rip the rolls from that orientation, it doesn't rip all the way and pulls a bunch of extra tp. So he likes it the other way. 

Naturally, whenever he loads a new roll he puts it in "backward" so he can use it better. At first this bothered me, and when I first started noticing the backward rolls in the boys' bathroom I would dutifully set the world straight again by reversing the roll. But I started noticing that the next time I went back into the bathroom it would be backward again. I would flip it and without fail it would go right back. 

When this insidious chaos made its way into our bathroom, I started asking around to the kids to find out who in the world was disrupting the natural order of things, only to have Maverick explain to me how the other way doesn't work for him.  He said it with a smile on his face like "well, of course, I flip it around every time Dad, the other way doesn't work." And that was enough to resolve the issue for me. 

I still put the rolls incorrectly when I load them, but now when they're flipped backward, I no longer feel frustrated by the obvious abandonment of what's right. Instead, I think of my sweet young boy flipping my previous placement with his adorable little hands and it seriously brings a smile to my face. The backward rolls are a little reminder of this wonderful little human in my life and it brings me more joy than a correctly placed roll ever could. It's one of those small things in life that I'll forever reflect upon fondly. What a wonderful joy it is to father such amazing little people. They have the ability to soften the most stubborn of my ways and I'm so grateful for the genuine and regular smiles that overcome me as I use the loo. :-)