Attic Inception: Third Level Down

I come from a family of seven (used to be 8 when I counted my dog jock, but he disappeared around the time I turned 10yrs old). Our household was designed to function around that number. When one individual is missing the workload of everyone else increases exponentially. Now imagine if only one of those seven individuals were present. In some circles you could say there's been 3 of us here, but my parents love to assume an overseeing role while I act as their field hand. This has been the setup in my household for the entire summer and its never more apparent than when I wake up in the morning.

Every morning I wake up its a new experience. Not as in I've acquired a new outlook on life or enlightenment visited me in a dream. More like "RYAN!!!! RYAN!!! THAT GRASS NEEDS CUTTIN!!" or "RYAN!!! RYAN!!! WHERE'S THE TV REMOTE??!! I CAN NEVER FIND MY TV REMOTES WHEN YALL SHOW BACK UP!!!". While in the back of my head I'm thinking I literally just got in town. What business do I have watching your tv in your room and then placing the remote in a secure location until I decide to use it again. Yesterday morning I woke up to two words, "COME ON" as my father marched up stairs to the attic with a broom in hand and conviction in the other. It was the most subtle yet unmistakeable command I've woken up to since high school. (Sidebar: Sometimes I can actually be alone in my bed in my apartment in Durham and think I heard my father call my name.) The only thing left to do at that moment was follow suit. I got out of bed, threw on some sweat pants and an old v-neck, and proceeded up those stairs. No breakfast, no preparation, no way out basically. When you're working in a place that hot, that dusty, and you've just woken up all you can do is immerse yourself in it. Otherwise you're doomed. With only a dust mask and the will to survive, I was surrounded by dust working to the point you would've thought I was Shia LeBouf in that movie Holes. And I didn't even see Holes, but judging from the box cover it was probably something like that.

This morning was somewhat similar, but slightly more awkward. I was in a deep sleep. I mean third level down Inception kind of sleep. The crazy part is I literally remember the dream verbatim (if that words applicable). While I was in the middle of convincing my indian economics professor why it'd be smarter for us to take a shower together in an effort to save water (she's quite attractive and big on going green), the bathroom we were standing in suddenly changed to an attic. I didn't even realize it because it was more like we appeared in it rather than transitioned into it. Like Leonardo DiCaprio said to oh girl when he was teaching her about extracting....."Think about how we got here....thats right can't do it. You're in a dream." Not only did our surroundings suddenly change from the bathroom to the attic but her attitude of cheerful compliance became angry skepticism. Midway through her monologue on refusing my offer I felt everything fade out as I heard my dad walking up the attic stairs once again. After spinning my dredle to make sure I wasn't still dreaming, my conditioning set in. I immediately got out of bed grabbed my sweat pants and whatever t-shirt was nearby, proceeded to head up the stairs and no sooner does my father come back down the stairs in some silk boxers with hearts around them saying "Wow you're up early, I was just up there checking things out. Well since you're up good you can get started while I go get ready."

I believe my father planted the idea of me cleaning the attic in my mind.

Being the only child home in a household of seven is something I wish upon no one.