I FINALLY figured it out..

Funny how revelations hit you when you're in bed in that zone just between drowsiness and sleep.......

I heard my hubby tear the "rip-cord" off the top of the cigeratte pack as he was sittting at the computer last night. He has a habit of doing that and then leaving the rip-cord wherever he happens to be sitting.

I cracked open an eye to remind him to please throw it in the trash bin beside the desk because I had JUST tidied before going to bed and that happens to be a pet peeve of mine- tidying before going to bed or to work and then coming home expecting to find not a perfectly tidy desk at least a SOMEWHAT tidy desk and finding it with a ripcord on the desk, along with the foil off the top of the pack...a couple dirty ashtrays........a glass and a plate.........and usually a couple peices of torn paper laying there with info scribbled on them....
I can tolerate disarray elsewhere- but when I sit down at my desk- it has to be perfectly in order before I can work......

Anyway- I cracked open an eye and he pulled the ripcord and put it on the desk- but the foil top he threw in the bin, So I decided to just leave it alone..... He's TRYING to remember these things that really bug me so I can live with the ripcord.
:-)

As I closed my eyes and was drifting back down into la-la-land again a GREAT revelation came to me to me.

"He's marking his territory", a voice in my head whispered.

My eyes popped open as I realized that the voice was RIGHT. The more I thought about it- the more sense it made.

Almost all men do it. It's UNIVERSAL. In our society it's totally unacceptable for men to go round peeing on everything- marking their territory- so what is the next best thing? They leave their stuff everywhere instead.

Socks in the bathroom and bedroom floor, their shirts on the chair in the living room, their hats in the foyer or hallway, their hunting or computer (or whatever they happen to be interested in) magazines out on tabletops and countertops. Even leaving the seat up in the bathroom proclaims that a male has dominance here and gives any other male coming into the house a warning to back off.

It made me smile- and made it a little easier to deal with when I got up this morning and found the plate, and glass, and two dirty ashtrays on the desktop for me to tidy before I could relax and get to the computer.

Men-....You gotta love 'em.