A minor rant

[pegkerr]

Remember that ghost plotline in pameladean's Tam Lin? Janet discovered that whenever she tried to think about the ghost, her thoughts would hare off in another direction; ANY direction, and she could never think about the problem clearly. It was as if there was something about the ghost that set off a thinking-baffler, especially in her dorm building.

I have thinking-baffling zones in my house, too.

The one that is bugging me the most is my front porch, and to a lesser degree, my back stoop. As best as I can map out the parameters, at this point, it encompasses the plants on the porch. For some mysterious reason, for everyone except me, the thoughts of people in my household mysterious skitter off to other subjects, whenever there is a necessity to Think About the Plants on the porch.

Here's the way it works: most days I remember to water the plants on the porch, and the hanging basket above my back door, and the plant on my back stoop. Sometimes, however, for some reason I don't have time, or I call home to ask one of the girls or Rob to do it, because the day is so hot they need to be watered twice in one day.

It is truly amazing. There is a thinking baffler around those plants. No matter what I do, once I make the request, it immediately drops out of the brain of the person of whom I have made the request. I'm talking within seconds.

This is irritating, I will admit. I spent money on those plants; I want to keep them looking nice. I want to keep up the house's curb appeal.

And it is infuriating that no matter how politely or stridently I word this simple request; Please water the plants it will never never never get done unless I do it myself. Even if they have agreed that yes, they will do it.

It may be related to the fact that I think I am the only member of my household who has pulled a weed on my property for, oh, probably most of the past ten years. It is, mysteriously, somehow a Mom Job.

But the forgetfulness. Well, that can only be a thought-baffling zone.

(Or, perhaps, a ghost?)

Comments

[aome.livejournal.com]

Put the plants in their beds, so they can't be ignored? ;) (just kidding)

Reminds me of those charms they put on the Quidditch World Cup stadium - any Muggle who got too close suddenly remembered urgent appointments elsewhere. :P

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

It's very, very hard, in my experience, to get kids or adults to do chores involving things they don't care about. I am the only one on this household who cares about the indoor plants; therefore, I am the only one who waters them. R and I are the only ones who care about the yard; therefore, we are the only ones who do any work out there (including watering potted plants).

OTOH, there is not a plant on this property (indoor or outdoor) that needs watering twice in one day. If yours truly do need twice-daily watering, you might think about bigger pots, peat moss on the soil surface, something like that. My outdoor ones are mainly in large pots, and they sure don't get watered even every day. Often they don't get watered till they start drooping; they always perk up.

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

My mother hates my stupid brain trick for remembering to water her hanging baskets-- I don't water them because they're high up, so I don't see them or remember them, and I dread it anyway because they're just at the height where lifting several gallons of water is tricky. If she's gone for a while, I put the plants down lower, where they'll catch more rain and where I can water them when I do the rest of the plants.
It's something like five watering cans by now. So very many containers!

I agree with the other commenter who said it's impossible to remember to do things one doesn't care about. I like the garden and don't have anything else going on. The others don't and do. I'm the one who gets the workout with the watering can.

Anyway. Sympathies on the containers, and I bet they look great (I like containers).

[shusu.livejournal.com]

I suggest just filling the watering can and putting it on someone's table until the plants are magically watered.

[schnoogle.livejournal.com]

If you have a cordless phone you can make them water the plants while still on the phone to you. ^^

[blackholly.livejournal.com]

I grew up in a house that was really, really dirty and in which my mom, my sister and I spent a lot of time avoiding chores. I think the unacknowledged conspiracy with the adult (in this case, my mom) seemed to reinforce the ignoring of chores (at least until my dad completely lost it at which time I would do the specific chore he was freaking out about before returning to doing nothing).

To this day, I don't know why we avoided doing anything. It just all seemed so overwhelming.