Roommates

It's hard to live with people, you know?  You love the every-morning sight of a lovely little opal-blue ceramic cup on the bathroom counter...and someone comes along and props an ugly toothpaste-y brush on it...you're jolted to reality...there's someone else in the house---and that little cup is not special to them!  You want to read in bed, they want to sleep.  You want to sleep, they want to watch TV---loud TV!  It takes getting used to, or you never can get used to it at all. 

My daughter has decided that a roommate would be a perfect solution to generating some extra cash.  When I reshingled her garage, a cleaning company jumped to rent the garage for supply storage.  It was good for them, and it's been good for her!  She doesn't need the garage except for her lawn mower, and they need storage close to their office on the other side of the alley.  They're quiet and orderly.  They pick up their supplies in the middle of the night.  Renting a room to another human being...is a whole different story.  She met a nice guy who talks pickles as fervently as she does...it seemed like a good match. 

Then he moved in.  He has three cars.  He propped a 5-gallon bucket of manure with some exotic plant...beside her pink-kitchen sink.  It's been there for two weeks.  He parked another 5-gallon bucket of manure---his worm farm---beside the front door.   He didn't think twice about taking the communal dog water bucket with him when he left for the weekend, leaving her dog without water for 11 hours that day.  I had just painted that bedroom pink (she bought FIVE gallons of pink paint!)...I was going to paint it white for him, but...I think I'll wait.  He hasn't coughed up the rent yet...is a common love of pickles enough to save this friendship??!