Literally!

I used to work with a guy who overused the word 'literally.' As in:

"I was literally sweating buckets!" "I can't walk another step! Literally!" "You're killing me! Literally!" And on and on and on.

As Inigo Montoya would say, "You keep using that word. I do not think it mean what you think it means."

Well my kids could teach him a bit about what 'literally' really means! Recent examples:

• I was cleaning the living room and asked the kids to take some toys to the playroom for me. They took the toys to the playroom all right. And no further. All toys were dumped in the hallway at the door of the playroom.
• I didn't learn from that experience and later asked Haley to take a basket of laundry to the bedroom for me. Sure enough, I walked down the hall to find the basket sitting directly in the doorway to the bedroom.
• We have some cats who like to try and steal food from the kids at mealtimes. So we often lock the cats in the bathroom while we eat to keep them away from plates. After lunch, I asked Brekken to let George (the cat) out of the bathroom - forgetting that Grace was also locked up. Brekken very carefully let George out while keeping Grace locked away.

But I think my favorite literal moment lately has to be the night Aaron asked Preston to put George in the bathroom. Preston grabbed the cat and took him to the bathroom, then returned to the table. A moment later, George jumped up on the chair beside him, headed for the dinner plate.

Aaron grabbed him and asked, "How did he get out here?"

And Preston responded, "Well he followed me back to the table."

"Didn't you put him in the bathroom?" Aaron asked.

"Yes."

By this time I was laughing because I realized the critical error Aaron had made. He didn't tell Preston to close the cat in the bathroom. So Preston had taken the cat down the hall, put him in the bathroom, and then walked away - without closing the bathroom door, because that hadn't been part of the instructions. LOL