Getting my Think on with Loo Paper

You know, it’s A. It’s always A. It always was and always will be. The reason I think A is the right direction a toilet roll should be put on the holder is because you’ll only need to turn the roll once to find the end. If it’s hung the other way, gravity holds the end of the paper against the roll and it and it can be hard to find.
I appreciate that everyone is different and some prefer B, but here’s the honest truth; I never believed that both A and B are right, I believed that I prefer the right way and others prefer the wrong way. The WRONG way. There have been times when I’ve gone to other houses and, seeing it’s not hanging right, I smile to myself in a small, pretentious way, and ‘fix’ it for them. For me, what way the toilet paper hangs is one of the few black and white decisions that one can make in life. You can choose A, or you can choose to be wrong.

I love how toddlers come in to the world and shake things up. You think you know something in every way there is to know it, and BAM! A small person will come along and teach you something you didn’t know, a new way to look at something as boring and normal as a roll of toilet paper.

You know what B will do? B will buy you a few seconds if your toddler finds themselves in the bathroom with the urge to redecorate your house. B will put a small but potentially crucial speed bump in your toddlers plans to unravel all the toilet paper and feed it into the loo. B might intrigue and challenge your toddler long enough to allow you to whisk away the bubble bath before they see it (and therefore want it) and start a tantrum comparable to a Kardashian on Christmas.

B is clearly the right way to hang a roll of toilet paper in my house. Mind = Blown.

If you have a toddler, try it. Think about your philosophy on toilet paper (I bet you have one…) or maybe something different. Maybe the way you stack the dishwasher, or the way you fold towels. Maybe the way you organise your pantry, or stack books, or even what you think about having a door closed in your house. The way I think about all these things has changed because now things like accessibility and safety is more important than, well, pretty much anything else. Having a daughter has shown me that there is a new ‘right way’ and nothing ever has clear cut, black and white, hard and fast rules.

And then, once you have a giggle about how those tiny, loud, adorable, dribbly kids have actually permeated every single tiny little microscopic aspect of your topsy turvy life like I did, this little moment of realisation can be applied to life in general. There is a new ‘right way’. Every time you grow, or learn, or something changes, the rules change, too. What was right becomes a little left, and you have to readjust your direction.

This is an especially handy thing to remember when inevitably judging the actions of other people, especially other parents. Remembering that my toddler has shown me the delicate, circumstantial nature of ‘being right’ helps me to take a step back and remind myself that, actually, the person I’m looking at is as ‘right’ as I am.

Oh, parenthood. It’s a special kind of crazy, when spiritual enlightenment comes from toilet paper.