It has been a full two weeks since I’ve moved away from my sister
and her boyfriend, and I must admit I might miss living with them just a little. If for no other reason,
they kept me constantly amused… mostly at their expense.
For one thing, they seemed to be plagued by the fact that
they need to do laundry. Granted, I have made it clear I am not fond of
Laundromats. But I still went to them on a regular basis because, you know, I
like clean clothes. The Sister and The Boyfriend somehow went weeks and weeks
(maybe even months?) without going, meaning when they did go they had multiple
suitcases and bags and even the cart thing most (normal) people use for
groceries. Just the exertion of the multiple trips to haul all of their clothes
down the stairs was enough to complain about. But the last time they got home
from a laundry expedition takes the cake. They barge through the door, panting
and sweating from going up and down and up the stairs to bring everything back
inside, and then explain to me in a huff that one of their loads came out all
pink because The Boyfriend accidentally threw in a sock from our Color Me Rad 5K (which happened on July 15th, this laundry trip happened August 9th
– you do the math). But oh, it gets better. The Sister then tells me that the
hamper she is holding is still full of dirty clothes because they accidentally
washed a stranger’s clothes instead of their own. Apparently, they were trying
to do their laundry assembly-line style, with The Boyfriend loading the washers
and The Girlfriend following behind with the detergent and quarters. But
somewhere along the way there was a communication hiccup, and she set up a
washer full of someone else’s clothes. They didn’t figure this out until later,
though, when she went to pull out her own clothes and realized, “Wait a minute,
these aren’t even damp.” (And I’m sure there was some smell involved, too,
given the amount of time since these clothes had last seen the inside of a
washer). And then a man walks up to the machine next to her—that’s still in
spin cycle—and confusedly asks, “Did you wash my clothes… again?” I guess he
had to wait another ten minutes while the load finished. By that point they
didn’t want to spend the time to load another washer, and they didn’t bring
enough detergent anyway. So they had to carry a full hamper of dirty clothes
back to our apartment. I would say that deserves an Epic Fail label, but it
successfully had me laughing for a good ten minutes.
I also found their little fights amusing (does that make me
evil?). They once came home from Date Night in an awkward silence, parting ways
at the door. The Sister came to sit on the couch next to me, and once we heard
The Boyfriend drop his man bag in their room (meaning he was safely out of
earshot), she explained that while they were out The Boyfriend almost ran into
a pole and she laughed. Then he got mad at her, she got mad at him for getting
mad at her, and I chocked on my chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream from
laughing.
A couple months ago she bought him a new toothbrush to
surprise him (because he loves them and apparently views them as a treat). But
between the time she got home from the store and the time she unloaded the bag,
he somehow pissed her off and she hid it from him for a week. Eventually either
she forgot why she was mad in the first place, he apologized, or he did enough
dishes to redeem himself, because she finally brought out the surprise
toothbrush—that, unfortunately, they call “teeths tools”—and he was
immensely happy. I found this whole exchange a bit sad at the time, but now I
realize this was just one of their little relationship quirks that I’ve come to
miss. There were certainly times during the year I felt like a pathetic third wheel, especially when they snuggled on the couch watching movies and I was
left on the cold love seat all alone. But I’ve come to admire their
relationship. It’s clear they have fun but also understand, support, and
encourage each other on a daily basis. I may not want to have conversations
with my significant other to go like
this:
Her: You want ice cream? Or salad? Or you want ice cream on your salad?Him: I want salad on my ice cream.
But I do want a relationship that makes me as happy as they
seem to be together. (It only took me a year and two weeks to admit I’m not
completely disgusted by their lovey-dovey bond.)
Throughout my year-long stint as their roommate, I collected
quite a few quotes from the happy eccentric couple. I could go into detail on
how strange they are and attempt to analyze their banter for you, but I feel their
quotes speak for themselves.
Him: My friend had a dog called an Akita. Have you heard of it?Her: No, it sounds like a running shoe.Her: He’s looking at chubby white men with man boobs online.Him: I’m just reading their opinions.Him: Look, it’s right here.Her: Well, move your hand.Him: But it’s right here.Her: What are you trying to show me?Him: It’s a stain.Her: Okay, but you understand your hand is blocking it from my line of vision?Him: But it’s right here!Her: But move your hand! …You’re special.Him: I thought that was a good thing.Her: He’s always thinking I’m secretly throwing away his socks.Him: I’m not in the mood for a movie tonight.Her: So… we just sit here?Him: Those aren’t the only options!
But in all honesty, it was a really great year. How lucky am
I to have a sister that is also my best friend—even in a tight living space
that is also shared by her boyfriend? I’ve gotten to know The Boyfriend very
well, too, and I will miss both of them. Although, I’m not sure living a
leisurely twelve-minute walk away gives me the right to say I’ll miss them.
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| Who wouldn't miss these shenanigans? |
The Sister: Katie’s going to have to come visit us to get blog material.The Boyfriend: Okay, but she can’t stay over every night.
