Ready, Set, Roll ‘Em!
Recently, I noticed the stark difference between the three rolls of toilet paper I keep in the cabinet underneath the bathroom sink and the pile of impending paperwork I keep in an antique kneading bowl on my coffee table. Each of the toilet paper rolls are individually wrapped and are made from bamboo rather than from wood pulp the way the papers in the bowl are. But none of these things are what I noticed. Rather what jumped out at me was how neatly the extra rolls are stacked in their tidy little pyramid versus how messily the papers are piled in the bowl. I realized that I am always grateful to find at least one of those extra rolls waiting for me when the toilet paper on the holder runs out. I keep the extra rolls dry and within easy reach. I replenish them from the larger supply I keep on a shelf over my washer. I feel a little anxious when I happen to glance at the bowl full of papers. I probably unconsciously avoid looking at them but they continue to sit there waiting for me to do something with them. A few need to be filed as hardcopies. Many need to be scanned and filed electronically. Others need to be added to my tax filing information. Still others need an answer from one agency or another. All of this paperwork feels overwhelming to me. Don’t get me wrong, I am completely capable of doing it all. None of it is actually difficult. But unlike the toilet paper, other people will become involved when I take care of the paperwork. I will need to wait for some responses. There will be agency representatives who will get to weigh in on the timeliness and correctness of my mother’s medical and longterm care documents. In short, the bowl is filled to the brim with multiple opportunities for potentially negative judgments to come my way, while the toilet paper just wants to help me out. I seem to be using tidiness to ensure that those extra rolls of toilet paper will be easily accessible when I need them, while using a lack of organization and avoidance to make the paperwork I need to do feel even more overwhelming. What a neat thing to realize.
Cinse Bonino
2024
