Learned habits

Our son is back with us for the summer, after getting his bachelor's degree and before going on to graduate school in the fall.

Two weeks after he began his freshman term, he met his girlfriend, K, whom we adore. They've been together ever since, although maintaining separate residences until the last six months. K's lease on her apartment ended in December, so from January until this May, she moved into our son's place with him and his roommates.

This fall they will be living together in London when he goes to grad school.

Being in a solid relationship and living with a female person has altered Our Son's living habits - this is a lesson in the power of young love that humbles a mother's heart. True love has managed to do what a lifetime of my nagging could not do - Our Son now habitually puts the toilet seat down and closes the toilet lid.

I would applaud this, except there's a little problem.

We have a dog now. Dogs like clean fresh water. When [The Man I Love] and I leave the house to go to work and leave our dog behind, what better source of clean fresh water is there than the reservoir contained in the nice, cool, white porcelain basin that resides in our hallway bathroom?

It's much fresher than the shallow dog-dish of stagnant tap water by the dish of kibble in the kitchen.

Over the last few months, we've learned to flush the toilet in that bathroom, and leave the lid and the door open to provide fresh water for Jack if we're leaving the house for a long period of time.

But now that Our Son is home, he forgets and the dog is left in the house with only lukewarm, stagnant water for refreshment.

We've been nagging Our Son about it for the last week or so. "Hey!" we'll say. "I thought I told you to leave the toilet seat up!!!!"

I predict that he won't break himself of this habit until August....just a few weeks before he moves to London for grad school, and moves back in with K.