The Mysteries And Anxieties Of A Q-Tip Container

The generic kind aren't called Q-Tips, since that, like Band-Aids, is a trademarked name for something everyone knows. They're called cotton swabs.

Our box always gets buried under some stuff in the bathroom, with the flap stuck down and no one knows what it looks like or what its exact circumstances are. Even though it's buried, it's still halfway peeking out so you know right where it is. I know I never see it clearly.

So I'm reaching for it, whether day or night, light or dark, and getting some swabs. Sometimes the flap's in the way but it doesn't usually matter. It's those rare times when it does matter that really bug me. Then you have to work the flap up and let some swabs escape its block. Then we're back to normal, the flag being a nuisance but not preventing the dispensing of swabs.

It's one of the few things that I'm continually reaching for when you can't see it. There might be a mousetrap in there and that's when I'd discover it.

I have a lot of anxiety about getting them out in time, so that I'm not blocked too many seconds.