I got an email from a fellow Penelope, Stacy, that both tickled and fascinated me. We both wanted to know what the rest of the Penelope world would do in the same situation.
Here’s Stacy’s story:
A couple of weeks ago, I went to stay with my brother (with whom I’m very close) for a few days at his new apartment. The first morning after my arrival, I woke up before he did and went into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.
As I looked around for the first time, I immediately noticed how many food items he had on top of his refrigerator and on his counters. There was stuff all over the place.
But, I got really confused when I opened up one of his cabinets and found it was empty. Completely empty! A quick search told me that 90% of his cabinets were empty.
Why would he have food and pantry items all over the kitchen except the cabinets? It made no sense!
So, we’re curious, Penelopes: what would YOU do in this situation?
- a) Immediately launch into a complete kitchen re-organization. You simply can’t help yourself.
- b) Wait until your brother comes downstairs and calmly discuss some other options with him that include proper use of cabinet space.
- c) Walk away and don’t say a word. It’s his house, not yours.
- d) Take some course of action.
There is absolutely no right or wrong answer. In fact, for now, I’m not even going to tell you what I’d do. I will, however, leave a comment in a few days with my answer.
Until then, I want to know what YOU’D do. Come on, be honest!
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
RESULTS: Great feedback, Penelopes. This was a fascinating exercise.
Here’s were we stand now that we’ve gotten 51 people to weigh in: over half of us said we’d go with Option B. We’d just have to talk to our brothers and see what was going on, we couldn’t just let it go. The second largest category went with Option A: they’d just jump in and change things. And very, very few said they’d not say anything at all or take another path entirely.
Again, there’s no right or wrong here. I think at the base of everyone’s answer is a place of really good intentions and I love that.
I’m going to do a poll like this every once in a while because I find this kind of thing so fascinating. I hope you’ll all continue to jump in with your honest reactions.
- Penelope Poll – dirty laptop edition: What would you do? I had a conundrum the other day that I wanted...
- Reader Quandry: Need Your Opinions, Penelopes! I got an email the other day from a delightful...
- When Penelope Gets Sick: there must be a lesson here Since last Thursday, I’ve had the worst flu I can...
{ 53 comments… read them below or add one }
← Previous Comments
Well, for me, the answer lies in the relationship, as many of you said.
If I felt that I could get away with it without ruffling any feathers, then I would go with A, and do it with relish and zest.
However, I would proceed with caution and default to B if I was at all unsure whether the person would be mad. While I always think my way is best, not everyone agrees.
Ok. For me, I would have to say C. However, if I thought it would stay organized I might would do it. Also, it would make a difference if it was a guyfriend or boyfriend I might lean toward actually doing something about it, if he would appreciate it…my little brother is 22. He a) would wreck it in a week and b) totally forgot I did it in the first place.
I’m so surprised at the tally so far that I had to weigh in. No matter how much I didn’t like the system it’s hands off all the way. I would have to respect his crazy system. When I visit my daughter there are many times when I have to remind myself not to butt in.
← Previous Comments