The Crying Indian

I have this friend.

He is a slob.

If you think this friend is you, you are right. It is. But he is also eight other friends of yours.

I looked up the definition of "slob." The primary definition came as no surprise: "a lazy or untidy person." But what caught my attention was the thesaurus' take on a slob. A synonym for slob?: "A litterbug."

Interesting.

So I looked up "litter." Litter is defined as "a disorderly accumulation of objects; a pile; carelessly discarded refuse."

Where does the modern-day slob litter? Why, in the comfort and convenience of his own home, of course. His home is a disorderly pile of carelessly discarded refuse.

How and why does this happen? Because the slob doesn't have the maturity to put things away.

I realized at an early age that life can be entirely defined by putting things away. Putting food in your mouth, putting knowledge in your brain, putting dirt in the vacuum cleaner, putting words and thoughts on paper or within hearing, and putting loving kisses on the cheeks of family and friends.

The cure for the slob's pile is simple. After you are done using something, PUT IT AWAY. I'm not saying to HIDE it away. Do not throw it in the junk drawer, hide it in the spare room, or shove it in your shoving place. Put it away where it belongs. Put it in the dishwasher, put it in the recycling bin, put it in the Goodwill box.

If you are "too busy" to do so, that only points out another layer of immaturity within you. It's called the inability to say the word "No." "No" to playtime, "No" to naptime, and "No" to the three other jobs that no one forced you to take on in the first place. Stop behaving like a child who doesn't want to clean up his toys and put it away.

The Crying Indians in your life will thank you.